#cause like. poisoning morgana is one thing

[adhd-merlin]

you know, if arthur had ever come to know that merlin considered letting a literal child die to save his life, however briefly, he would have been horrified. even if mordred did end up killing him. that's just not what arthur was about

[tossawary]

I'm reviewing episode transcripts from "Merlin" to build up my worldbuilding document (character list, mostly) and, a little ways into S2, I'm kind of feeling like the show is actually quite mean to Arthur as a character sometimes? S1 E14: "To Kill the King" is one of those episodes where I forget how badly it pissed me off until I run into it again.

Like, don't get me wrong, Arthur can be a bully, entitled, hotheaded, and reckless, but he's also at this point risked his own life to save people multiple times. Both individuals whose lives were "worth less" than his own (getting the Mortaeus flower for a poisoned Merlin, smuggling Mordred out of the city, protecting Ealdor from bandits) and also Camelot as a whole (fighting the plague-causing monster in the sewers, fighting the mam-eating griffin, drinking poison to lift the unicorn curse).

Arthur is giving me vibes of being both bored and frustrated (and probably not able to name those feelings or exactly why he has them) because he wants so badly to do good things, but he's not really sure how to go about it because (no one ever tells him anything, he almost NEVER knows what's really going on to make informed choices, and) he's also stuck under the thumb of his tyrannical father, who spends most of their scenes together berating Arthur for being too merciful, for not being dutiful enough, and/or not finding sorcerers for execution fast enough. When Arthur tries to be fair-minded and compassionate, Uther often essentially tells him that he's going to be a weak king with that attitude.

Arthur's pathways to betterment are limited, his parent and role model and boss here is an AWFUL person, but he's trying!

So, it's quite frustrating to get to this one episode where characters like Gaius (extremely biased, admittedly, clearly not an objective individual) are saying things like: "Arthur's not ready. The responsibility would be too great. Brave though he may be, he lacks experience, he lacks judgement."

Like, I don't know, Arthur may be only 21 and kind of a dipshit, but I personally think he'd still do a better job than the guy who tried to kill a kid (Mordred) just for existing a few episodes ago? Maybe? Gwen's father, who wasn't even a sorcerer or knowingly working with one, is dead explicitly because of Uther's awful laws. Did everyone in this episode forget that Uther tried to BURN GWEN ALIVE AT THE STAKE not that long ago (Episode 3)?

ARTHUR: "[Morgana]'s right, Father. You hear the word magic, you no longer listen."

UTHER: "You saw it for yourself. She used enchantments."

ARTHUR: "Yes, maybe. But to save her dying father, that doesn't make [Gwen] guilty of creating a plague. One's the act of, of kindness, of love, the other of evil. I don't believe evil's in this girl's heart."

UTHER: "I have witnessed what witchcraft can do. I have suffered at its hand. I cannot take that chance. If there is the slightest doubt about this girl, she must die or the whole kingdom may perish."

ARTHUR: "I understand that."

UTHER: "One day you may become King. Then you will understand. Such decisions must be made. There are dark forces that threaten this kingdom."

ARTHUR: "I know. Witchcraft is an evil, father. So is injustice. Yes, I am yet to be King, and I don't know what kind of king I will be, but I do have a sense of the kind of Camelot I would wish to live in. It would be where the punishment fits the crime."

UTHER: "I fear you're right. She's played with fire, and sadly she must die by fire."

When the adult druid (Cerdan) accompanying Mordred is killed (Episode 8), Arthur objects afterwards! On his own! While Arthur is sometimes an active participant in Uther's tyranny and otherwise complicit, he's been told all of his life that magic is inherently evil and corrupting, he was raised by the very man spreading this hateful philosophy, he should probably hate magic more than anyone after Uther, and yet he still disagrees with Uther's methods and judgments. Even though Uther is apparently VERY willing to lock both his son (Episode 4) and his ward (Episode 8) in the dungeons for disagreeing with him and disobeying him!

ARTHUR: The Druid was only in Camelot to collect supplies. He meant no harm. Is it necessary to execute him?

UTHER: Absolutely necessary. Those who use magic cannot be tolerated.

ARTHUR: The Druids are a peaceful people.

UTHER: Given the chance, they would return magic to the kingdom. They preach peace, but conspire against me. We cannot appear weak.

ARTHUR: Showing mercy can be a sign of strength.

UTHER: Our enemies will not see it that way. We have a responsibility to protect this kingdom. Executing the Druid will send out a clear message. Find the boy. Search every inch of the city.

Obviously, running a kingdom is complicated! Uther apparently won Camelot by conquest and is in conflict with many of the neighboring kings, including Odin and Cenred, and likely has more of the respect of the local nobility than young Arthur does. Uther's death would create some instability! (Agravaine de Bois hasn't been created yet, but let's assume there are many other potential vultures.)

But the show generally isn't pushing that angle. This isn't really about smooth transitions of power. Personally, concerning Arthur's "lack of judgment", I do find his ready conviction that it is his duty to die for Camelot's honor if necessary (he says as much to Merlin explicitly before fighting Valiant in Episode 2, then again before fighting the Black Knight in Episode 9) more than a little concerning, but that doesn't seem to be angle pushed here either.

The show has characters (Merlin, Gwen, Gaius) suggesting that offing the King, who regularly kills innocent people whether they have magic or not, who has forbidden use of the tool that might have saved innocent people from Nimueh's plague or the wraith of Tristan de Bois, would be wrong! It would be murder and murder is bad! It would make (in the words of a grieving Gwen) her "just as bad" as him.

Even though Merlin has at this point already killed Aulfric and Sophia (Episode 7), as well as Mary Collins (Episode 1) because they were trying to kill Arthur. And arguably got an assist with Valiant (Episode 2). And will kill many more as the show goes on. This conversation with Kilgharrah in S1 E14 is in many ways so, so funny:

KILGHARRAH: Well, young warlock, what is it you come to ask of me?

MERLIN: I need your help.

KILGHARRAH: Of course you do, but this time, will you heed my words?

MERLIN: The sorcerer Tauren is plotting to kill the King. He's made an ally of Morgana. I don't know what to do!

KILGHARRAH: Do… nothing.

MERLIN: What do you mean? If I do nothing, Uther will die.

KILGHARRAH: Don't you want Uther dead? It is Uther that persecutes you and your kind, Merlin. It is Uther that murders the innocent…

MERLIN: But surely that doesn't make it right to kill him.

KILGHARRAH: Only if Uther dies can magic return to the land. Only if Uther dies will you be free, Merlin. Uther's reign is at an end. Let Arthur's reign begin. Fulfil your destiny!

[The dragon flies off.]

MERLIN: Wait! Where does it say my destiny includes murder?

KILGHARRAH: Free this land from tyranny, Merlin! Free us all!

I feel for Kilgharrah here. He was VERY straightforward. I don't know how he could have been clearer about this.

I won't say that Merlin's character writing doesn't make ANY sense here (I do think the character writing in this show is NOT amazingly consistent), because... he IS being influenced by Gaius, who is, unfortunately, a bootlicker and also probably extremely traumatized by all of the death he's seen (big contributor of the bootlicking) (also, apparently Gaius only becomes a "freeman" at the end of Episode 6, so there's that). And Merlin is also being heavily influenced by Arthur, who loves his father, despite everything. For Arthur's sake, if no one else's, Merlin will go out of his way to save Uther. Sure! That tracks!

Merlin spends a lot of time in this show protecting a terrible status quo under some assumption that Camelot will... somehow suddenly become better under Arthur? Instead of perhaps eventually just trusting Arthur and talking to him after their years of knowing each other? There are several, in-world reasons for this and I don't think they're all unrealistic! It's tense! It's thrilling sometimes!

(Though I am ultimately a little annoyed that Merlin's many secrets never really come out and get dealt with by the characters, because that would have been fun drama and some resolution to all the tension, even if the story did still end in death.)

There's some tasty tragedy in this silly show, in many ways. Merlin is confused and conflicted and scared and without clear guidance in many ways. Kilgharrah is mysterious and not at all reassuring. Gaius is complacent and (very reasonably) incredibly secretive. Merlin doesn't get to see many of the moments where Arthur speaks up for magical people and tries to talk Uther down. Morgana and Arthur are both stuck here in a "The hands that cradled you are covered in an unimaginable amount of blood." "But they cradled me, yes?" nightmare scenario. (There's also a sexist element where male characters like Gaius and Merlin won't let Morgana know about her own powers "for her own good" in a gaslight-y way that's fascinating to me in how it creates a villain.)

But, also, the compelling tragic elements here don't make certain episodes any less frustrating to watch in their execution. (I don't think villains being frustrating to watch or read necessarily makes them effective villains, especially when what I really find annoying here is the heroes' reactions to the villain. Uther has killed SO MANY PEOPLE! FOR NO REASON!) Especially when a lot of the overall results of this show often feel more accidental than purposeful. I do understand why the writers keep Uther around! He's a formidable antagonist to have looming all over the place and the actor is fun.

But OOF, I felt that "Do... Nothing".

Merlin! MERLIN! LISTEN TO THE SCARY DRAGON! MERLIN, REMEMBER THAT TIME UTHER TRIED TO BURN GWEN ALIVE??? JUST BECAUSE GWEN IS TOO NICE TO GO AFTER UTHER WITH A KNIFE AND TAKE REVENGE, IT DOESN'T ACTUALLY MEAN KILLING HIM MAKES YOU "JUST AS BAD"!!! MERLIN!!! YOU HAVE ALREADY MURDERED MULTIPLE PEOPLE WHO KILLED WAY LESS PEOPLE THAN UTHER!!!

In Episode 4, Morgana says to Uther: "You can't chain [Arthur] up every time he disagrees with you." This implies to me that Uther has had Arthur thrown in the dungeons before. In Episode 3, Arthur says to Morgana: "Father will slam us both in chains if he knew I'd endangered you," and maybe he wasn't at all joking with that? Arthur is rattling the bars of his cell here, apparently fairly ready to be aimed wherever Merlin points him, bucking against being aimed at innocents by his tyrant of a father.

But nooo, Gaius says Arthur is "not ready yet" because...??? He seems less hotheaded than Uther to me, honestly. Are his tax policies not up to par yet? You can hire a guy for that. Suggesting that Arthur would be in any way worse than His Majesty "Anyone Who Talks To A Sorcerer Gets Executed Even If They Didn't Know They Were A Sorcerer" feels quite mean to Arthur, really. I think he'd do alright, in comparison, Gaius who lies to the King every single day, but I suppose you sometimes want to be a loyal friend to good ol' King "Made Merlin Drink Poison That One Time And Wouldn't Let Anyone Go Get The Cure". Good for you. Bad for everyone else.

Like, I know, I know this show is not very deep. I like that all of the characters are flawed and fumble a lot! I even kind of enjoy that it ultimately ends in death with so many loose emotional threads. It is a weekly burst of fantasy nonsense that is not especially concerned with consistency in worldbuilding or characters from episode to episode. But the executive discrepancies here are, like the ones in "Star Wars", weirdly fascinating with all of the holes and wobbly bits it creates.

This show: "Yes, our hero has once again saved the tyrannical king who kills innocents! Preventing the oblivious prince from assuming the throne and trying to do better as he so clearly wants to do! Good work, Merlin, taking the high road (which involved murdering the rightfully angry people trying to kill the tyrannical king) again!"

Me, every time: "...I am genuinely not sure how the show wants us to interpret this. What did they think they were doing with this? Was this always meant to be a tragedy from the first season? Because personally, I'm getting some kind of tragedy from this."

[thenightshadowqueen]

What do you think are Merlin and Arthur’s greatest personality strengths and weaknesses? Why? What do you love about their dynamic?

Also, what are your top 5 favorite moments from Merlin BBC? Sorry if you've answered this questions before....

Ooh, those are great questions! And don’t worry; I haven’t done these yet. Thank you for the ask! I am so, so sorry that it’s taken me so long to get to this; I’ve been having a time the past few weeks, and I wanted to give you a properly thought-out answer.

Okay, so: Merlin. I think the idea of strengths and weaknesses for him really comes from whose perspective you’re looking from. If we’re looking at what makes him such a compelling character, then I think his greatest strength is his complete and unconditional devotion to Arthur. That is what draws me, at least, so totally to his character—not in the sense that he isn’t a fascinating and full character separate from Arthur, but in the sense that his self, especially in the later seasons, is so fundamentally tied to Arthur that it’s impossible to have Merlin as he is without Arthur. However, if we’re looking at strengths and weaknesses from the perspective of Merlin’s own mental health, this very same trait is his greatest weakness. The same is true if you look at all of the bad things that happened due to Merlin’s decisions: his worst decisions were made with Arthur’s best interests at heart.

Arthur’s strengths and weaknesses are, I think, a little easier to determine. His greatest strength is probably his dedication to his people and his determination to do what’s best for his kingdom. On the other hand, he is a bit of a dick, especially during the earlier seasons. He can also be quite oblivious (some of which is his character and some of which is questionable writing).

As for what I love about the dynamic, I think a lot of it comes down to the fundamental imbalance of the whole thing. I’m fascinated and quite compelled by unhealthy ship dynamics (I have my theories as to why, but we don’t need to get into that here), and just the fact that Arthur doesn’t know about Merlin’s magic means that their relationship can never be equal. And then, when you think about Merlin’s self-destructive devotion, it all becomes clear. Arthur is just as dedicated to Merlin as the other way around, but because Arthur doesn’t have all the information, he is unable to put in the same amount of effort and love as Merlin. [Autocorrect tried to change ‘love’ to ‘lube’. Just thought I’d share that.] Of course, there’s also the fucking chemistry; that’s what got me into them in the first place, but the unbalance of the whole thing is why I’ve stayed so long.

Top 5 BBC Merlin Moments

5. “Where does it say my destiny includes murder?” (S1E12)

This scene has always stood out to me during rewatches, because with the context of the full show, it’s dripping in dramatic irony. Merlin kills so many people for Arthur, most necessary and some not, and at some point he stops thinking twice about it, because he’ll do anything to protect Arthur. And this scene is so fucking sad, because he’s so innocent, and you just know that that’s all going to be ripped away.

4. Merlin poisoning Morgana (S2E12)

This is such a crucial turning point. This kind of solidifies Morgana turning sides, but it’s also the first moment you get to see that ruthlessly devoted side of Merlin. I mean, he poisons one of his closest friends to save Arthur. And I feel like this is one of the first times we really get to see how far he’s willing to go. Also, shoutout to Colin and Katie, because the acting was incredible.

3. That one five-second shot of Morgana grabbing Gwaine’s jaw (S4E12)

Look, I have deep reasons for the other ones. I’m allowed to have one shallow moment as a favourite. As a treat. They’re both so fucking gorgeous, and together? In that dynamic? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: they are conspiring to cause my death.

2. Arthur and Merlin’s fight in the marketplace (S1E1)

They’re both such sassy little shits in this scene, and I love them for it. But also the pure sexual tension in that scene is unreal. Like, Arthur is so fucking delighted to find someone who treats him like a normal person, and Merlin is just pissed off. Is there a better dynamic? I don’t think so.

1. Arthur’s death (S5E13)

It’s heartbreaking. I’m not denying that. But it’s gorgeous. Colin and Bradley did such an amazing job, and there’s so much love and heartbreak packed into those few minutes, and I actually don’t know what I can say about how much I love it other than just look at it.

[morganafayes]

i want to talk about the dark tower (5.06) because it is SUCH a frustrating episode for multiple reasons. it’s unique in that it’s one of the only morgana/gwen centric episodes in the entire series - and yet it ends up becoming a detriment to both of their characters’ development. this episode sucks not just because of the evil gwen plotline (which was terrible yes. we love the writers just removing her autonomy over and over again for no reason!) which resulted from it but also because the lost potential of it all - when this setup could have been easily used to create some of the most interesting plot lines for gwen (and morgana) in s5

like. sorry to say but would it be that impossible or insane for gwen to actually sympathise to some degree with morgana here without magical brainwashing. to me its not! the thing about gwen is that she's a morally driven character first and foremost. one of the main reasons she falls in love with arthur is because crucially, she sees him as a good person. she loves him for the values that she believes he upholds and his desire to do justice. it was same with lancelot - it's emphasised that she liked him because he's honourable and good. we also see that she values her morality and doing the right thing above her own emotions at times (re: her not wishing for uther's death even after he killed her father).

with that in mind, would it be that insane for her entire perspective on arthur and merlin (AND magic) to change because of morgana? firstly, gwen never finds out that merlin poisoned morgana. this is very important to me.... because although yes he didn't 'have a choice' (im not gonna get into all of that but i understand both sides of the argument. whatever) he still did something wrong. like. killing 1 or 10 people in the trolley problem still makes u a murderer. she has every right to hate him. he objectively betrayed her and took advantage of her trust. i feel as if gwen would sympathise with morgana and at the very least this would affect her opinion towards merlin to some degree, and make her realise he's hiding things (because she, like arthur, doesn't know half the shit he gets up to and does! she even less than him!). furthermore (and more importantly) i can absolutely see gwen sympathising with morgana against arthur to some degree too. like yes he's her husband but AGAIN she's someone who always puts her principles first and objectively arthur is upholding his father's legacy by continuing the oppression of magic users. he is textually an oppressor. in 5.13 its clear gwen doesnt fully distrust or hate magic from her conversation with gaius (although she might be suspicious of it considering her past experiences) so she would probably be very sympathetic and understanding if morgana were to explain to her what it was like to be a magic user under uther's reign. how demonised and oppressed they truly were and continue to be. like. she would absolutely still criticise and call morgana out for hurting innocent people but ultimately morgana's cause (despite it being not really true to what it claims to be) would be sympathetic. at the very least she would see that arthur is wrong, even somewhat, for continuing to uphold his father's legacy. especially because (as the writers seemed to forget for some reason.) of her extremely complicated relationship with uther in the past, considering he almost had her killed more than once and did in fact murder her father because of his obsession with banning magic. and now her husband is doing the same thing.

no of course gwen would not side with morgana at this point in the story. but she would understand her and sympathise and it would create such an interesting moment of character growth/conflict. it would make her question her marriage, the things she THOUGHT arthur and camelot stood for and whether those things are really true. it would make her doubt merlin's character and realise he's hiding so much more than she thought. it might make her distrust him or demand the truth. it might make her wonder what SHE wants to do as queen, as a ruler in her own right, especially if she starts to have ideological disagreements with her husband. there's literally so much that could have been done with her in s5 as fallout from just this one episode and they did the most boring thing ever and made it suck so bad. bbc merlin writers ur not seeing the pearly gates

[sugar-coated-prat-dragon]

Title: The differences between Witches, Wizards, Druids and Warlocks

Questions by @tansyuduri

Tagging: @miyriu @tkmaras

Books used for reference: Merlin Complete Guide, Merlin Annual 2011, Merlin Annual 2013, Valiant, Death of Arthur and Tiny Merlin book called, “Arthur and the Unicorn”

Questions:

What is the difference between the four magical types? Witches, wizards, druids and warlocks.

Morgana is a witch, so are witches just woman born with magic and Warlocks are men and then Druids are part of the order?

But then what about woman NOT born with magic?

Also since Merlin is one of a kind this doesn’t fully make sense!

━━━━━✁┈┈┈┈┈┈

Known types of sorcerers:

Druid: Mordred, Iseldir, Cerdan, Aglain, Ruadan, Sefa, Kara and Freya.

Warlock: Alvarr, Merlin, Balinor and Dragonlords in general (Dragonlords are a very special warlock who can control Dragons).

Wizard: Gaius, Tauren, Anhora and Merlin (only referred to as a Wizard one time. More information about that below in the bonus section).

Witch: Morgana, Nimueh and Mary Collins.

My answer: I could be wrong, but it seems to me like the genres go as follows…

- Druids are a group of individuals who often possess magic and yet their group is more of a minority of religious and peaceful outsiders with members of both genders.

- Warlocks are men that are born with magic.

- Witches are woman born with magic.

- Wizards are men who acquire magic through extensive study and practice.

- It seems like other woman with magic (Alice, ect..) might just be referred to as a sorceress and if they use manipulation/seduction they might be coined an enchantress (which is how Uther referred to Morgause).

Important things to note:

There’s also special kinds of both Warlocks and Wizards that have a connection and power associated with certain magic creatures.

- Anhora is a very special kind of wizard (one who protects the unicorns).

- Dragonlords are a very special warlock (who can control Dragons and are their kin).

Interesting things about Witches:

- Despite witches being a type of female sorcerer, who can use magic for good or evil.

It’s interesting to me that the title of witch, seems to be an almost sexist term in itself.

Especially, since Uther’s hatred of magic has caused his citizens to enact ‘witch-hunts’ (which Gwen admits usually cause distrust and target innocent old ladies with cats).

Even the great dragon himself seems to only refer to Morgana as a ‘witch’ in a bitter way and it’s spoken as if being a witch makes her evil (which we know to not be true).

Sorcerers may be witches or wizards, druids or warlocks; they may use magic for good or evil.

A FATE UNKNOWN: Taken from Camelot by her half-sister Morgause, does she know it was Merlin who poisoned her? And if she lives, will she return to Camelot a hero, or with villainy in her heart? Will she live up to the title of witch' bestowed on her by the Great Dragon?

Interesting facts about Merlin:

- According to the books, despite being classified as a Warlock, Merlin is able to do magic of a kind never seen before and he’s specifically noted to be different, than even the rare humans born with magical abilities.

The description specifically mentions humans with telepathy and the ability to see the future. Then says on a different line… “And then there is Merlin ...”

Which makes a lot sense when you consider that Emrys is not only the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth, but magic itself and immortal.

BALINOR: “Merlin, you are more than a son of you father. You are son of the earth, the sea, the sky. Magic is the fabric of this world, and you were born of that magic. You are magic itself. You cannot lose what you are.”

Bonus section: Oddly enough, Merlin is referred to as a ‘wizard’ exactly one time (Merlin Annual 2013) and it was on the page referencing Kilgharrah.

Which might have something to do with Kilgharrah’s gift of prophecy and his ability to see that in the future, Merlin is more popularly described as a wizard by the Arthurian legend and mythology.

So in the future, the name ‘Wizard’ might become the more popular title associated with Merlin due to him being portrayed as an old, wise man. While not accurate in the Middle Ages, language and terminology often changes. And a thousand years is a long time.

MAGICAL POWERS:

Very rarely, humans are born with magical abilities. Some have the gift of telepathy - the ability to speak mind to mind. Others can see the future.

And then there is Merlin ...

UNIQUE GIFT:

Before he comes to Camelot, Merlin has never been taught magic and knows no spells - yet he is able to do magic of a kind never seen before.

THE GREAT DRAGON: Kilgharrah is one of Albion's last and greatest links with the old magic.

He can see Merlin's destiny, and when he was imprisoned beneath Camelot he developed a strong relationship with the young wizard.

[dollopole]

Could have destiny, and therefore Arthur’s death, really be avoided in Merlin? Or were things supposed to flow like that either way?

The first thought that struck me, as soon as the last episode ended, was the usual “what if?” that keeps this fandom alive, alongside the plethora of theories (that I like looking into and discuss) questions, answers and headcanons.

But no matter how many times I think about it, I personally believe that the answer to the question in the title is simply:

No.

It couldn’t.

The directors, no matter how many choices they made, that we could either think are wrong or not, had also made a wonderful job of deceiving us, but not really, and ending the show with a tragedy and a good fucking plot.

What is the plot, you may ask?

“You don’t choose destiny, destiny chooses you”,

and I think it’s brilliant.

First thing first, destiny:

The directors said: “Fuck it.” They tried everything they could do so that Merlin, at the end of the day, had only one choice. It is really an hard point to make, especially because we like to think that if Merlin had done something differently, things could have actually took another road, and yes, it could have, but it didn’t happen, because we needed an enemy in the show, and it was made on purpose. I like to think that the directors knew it would piss people off. It did. Great job, you guys, I still think about it after fifteen years.

Second thing, who’s the bad guy? (Uther)

What I mean by this, is that I’m asking this question to the main characters who the directors wanted us to believe they were objectively good, right, like Merlin, or Gaius, and even Arthur. How about, no one of them had to be completely good? It hurts less if the characters I just cited acted differently, like we oftentimes say of Merlin, but it’s fiction, and we wouldn’t have Tumblr to discuss it on, if they were all perfect, so why not give them some very bad flows? *cough* All the better if they’re murderers *cough*. Now, if it were reality, I too would have said: “Go to hell”, but it’s BBC Merlin, so let me have some fun.

Morgana is bad, Merlin could be too, Arthur even, also Gwen, Lancelot too, and all the wicked team we’ve got. Oh, especially the toilet they had instead of a king, the one and only Uther Pendragon. I even said that Gaius is bad, and offended Hunith of all people, so let’s get to my point. Merlin could have done things differently? Yes. But Morgana, too. Hell, also Arthur. The point of the TV show is the very, very bad choice Uther made of being a tyrant, so. Merlin could have told Morgana he had magic? Yep, but sometimes I believe Morgana had to be evil, so even if she could have become like that in another way, she made her own choice. She knew Merlin was a good person, who didn’t dislike her because of the magic, and still threatened him throughout all season three, causing chaos and death because she craved power and she was in a privileged position where she could do all these things. We like to blame Merlin and Gaius for how she turned out, but what about Gwen? Poor woman didn’t do anything, as much as breathing too hard near her mistress, and Morgana wanted her dead because she hated the idea that a woman like Gwen, who even if amazing and with so many skills, was just a peasant, and could get on her throne. Morgana made the choice to hate Gwen. Morgana made the choice to try and kill Arthur to take her throne, even when Arthur had no idea of what was happening. Heavy on her throne, because who said it was? By age, status, whatever, Uther appointed Arthur as the heir, and there is no changing that. (so, bad Morgana. See? She had to be, like, it was the director’s job)

“Merlin poisoned her.” He did, and isn’t that magnificent? We can see how it destroys both of them in their own ways. Why did they have to be good characters? Imagine how boring the show would have been, and now I wouldn’t be making a post about it at ten in the evening. Morgana chose Morgause. There is no discussing that. As soon as she saw she could take Arthur’s throne, she started doing the evil smirk every two seconds, accuse Gwen of being a sorceress (shouldn’t she side with her own kind?), killing guards wherever she went, sneaking out with the clip, clap of her boots to make bad things, uh uh, in the woods, uh uh.

Third thing, Merlin tried, poor guy:

No, he is not perfect either, and I love it. He is a man who got appointed with this great job to do the right thing since he was a boy, and what did the lad do? Many wrong things, LMAO. And still, in his perspective, they were right. And we agree on most of them, don’t we? Everything because we’ve got his point of view. It was right for Merlin to try and kill a child, because of a prophecy; it was right to lie to Morgana, because she was upstanding, and he was just a peasant; it was right to free a dragon, and he was simply right on this one (yes, to me, there is no discussing this. I would have freed The Great Dragon too, and I cannot blame him for what he did after); it was right to poison Morgana; it was right for Merlin to follow Arthur everywhere and believe he was a good man despite everything, because the idiots loved one another more than they could hate the system they had been put in (spoiler alert, Arthur too has so many flows). Why listing all these things he thought were right? Because they were right to him, because we know his life, how much he had hurt, and how much death not only he saw, but also inflicted. And Morgana killed so many people too. She, multiple times, committed treason, and Merlin had enough information to know that she agreed to make Camelot sleep. Thinking only of saving Arthur and innocent people, he did what he thought was best (this is the same man who had already saved Morgana after he had already tried to kill her, because he tried with all his might not to be a killer, like he had said to the dragon long before), and poisoned her. Could there be an excuse for Mordred? I believe not, but Merlin believed there was, and that’s enough for him, for the audience, and that’s what makes him such a complicated and beautiful character. Merlin did help Morgana, even if he lied to her, and what if he didn’t? He could have got into so much more trouble, Gaius would have reproached him, Merlin believed neither Arthur or Camelot were ready to accept magic, or him, and Morgana, once finding out about the fact that he was Uther’s daughter, she would have probably still acted the same, because we later see that she didn’t want magic to not be outlawed anymore, but to simply, ehm, kill Arthur and everyone who got in her way.

Fourth thing, the other characters can be bad too:

Even if enchanted, Gwen did betray Arthur. (she is such a good character, and very kind, but I like when even the best ones do something bad). We know she is not guilty, but nobody knew, not even Merlin and Gaius, because they never found out she had been enchanted. And when she was evil, there are still consequences to the deaths she caused. Lancelot, even if a good man, and a good friend to Merlin, left before Gwen could decided if she wanted a relationship with him. Gwaine, who we love and adore, him too a complex character, didn’t think about it twice in kicking Merlin in the dungeons when Gwen, evil and enchanted, had accused him of treason. (yes, she is the queen, but Gwaine doesn’t seem the kind of character who would that, or maybe yes?) What about “you’re the only friend I have” and all that? Arthur still made prejudiced choices even when crowned king, and Merlin supported him, and we know why. Even bloody Sefa, manipulated by her father, decided to commit treason.

My point is, who wouldn’t have loved if things went differently, but at the same time, a TV show that is so perfect, with characters who cannot make a single bad thing, would have been still this enjoyable? Hell, that is the point of fiction, that is the point of writing, of directing. Even when we look at bad choices in a TV series, we try to understand why those things happened, why character A betrayed character B and the dominoes effect their relationship brought.

That’s what makes the TV show better. You can build things off bad things. You can make good fanfictions about what could have gone different. You can make theories debating whatever these choices were simply poorly made by the directors or made on purpose. You can discuss all day the relationships between the characters because they’re flowed, and sometimes even toxic.

That is the best part.

This is not to say that we cannot blame a character’s arc for something that happened, or try to redeem another character, instead, but it’s also good to be able to judge and point and write about it.

Even in this post I made points that I believe should be objective (siding with the oppressor, being an oppressor, not blaming a caged dragon for revenge, ecc.) and yet I still like the characters because I can blame them and talk about them exactly because they’re bad.

Moral of the story. A good story always has an antagonist. We shouldn’t delete that.

(and fuck you, Uther Pendragon)

See? Beautiful.

[inalandofsadclowns]

What I like a lot about Merlin's writing as a character, is that he was allowed to do horrible things of his own will. Because all of the other protagonists of the show are so... pure, for a lack of a better word. When they mess up, it's mostly unknowingly or because they have been enchanted. See: when Arthur attacked Merlin or almost caused a war - under a spell, both times. Freya killed all those people - but she was cursed. Gwen cheeted on Arthur - but she wore that cursed bracelet. Lancelot was the one she cheeted with - but he was just a shade, a mindless shell of himself.

Even Morgana was enchanted by Morgause without her consent or knowledge, which led to the enchantment of the whole castle and Merlin betraying her. After getting poisoned by Merlin, she had a solid ground for her bitterness and losing all trust in people outside of Morgause. Without Merlin's tricking Morgana, I honestly think she would have willingly offered her life to save everyone else (actually, she would have left and never looked back since dying wasn't necessary, but I think it still fits season 2 Morgana).

Whereas Merlin keeps knowingly choosing between foul and fouler. Now, we must mention, his choices have never been quite brilliant, ever. But then at that infamous moment: pushing Arthur to the "there's no place for magic in Camelot" path. Ladies and gentlemen, that wasn't the old Merlin. He wasn't himself there, and at the same time he was, because no one forced him to say that. But he got there somehow, and I want to see. Just. That. I want to see that boy make mistakes - his own mistakes, not "the evil witch's" manipulation - and I want to see the consequences. And then I want to see him deal with a mistake that's his own and maybe not learn from it. I want him to believe he can save the whole world, as if he was a god, omnipotent, and fail. I want to see the messy story of a good-willed man.

Merlin walks a road where his character gets so muddy and with every sacrefice he finds himself in a hole deeper than the one before, while others to his left and right get absolved, their sacrefices pay off. There's so much pain, confusion and anger, and somehow at the sole of it there's love (and fear).

[leonawriter]

Okay so during P5's climax against Yaldabaoth, Morgana states "I see... if a god plays naughty, then it's a demon lord's duty to punish him."

And in modern interpretations of Norse mythology, Loki is seen as the Satan-archetype - the deceiver, the one who goes against the gods. If nothing else, he does kickstart the end of the world.

But - thing is, what just occurred to me is that in the Norse myths what happens is that Loki kills someone (Baldr), and then he's punished, and part of the setup for Ragnarok is that he's chained and imprisoned, and it's actually other things happening that set off the chain of events that lead to him being freed (I need to brush up on stuff and don't have time to wiki-trawl atm, but I'm pretty sure that's the broad strokes of it, at least).

So, going by what happens in Persona 5's climax, Yaldabaoth is bringing about the end of the world, right? This is the reckoning. This is Ragnarok. You'd expect Loki to be there, right?

Except... no. He's not. Joker's in the part of the story where he's at the top (the devil having fallen from grace and then become strong enough to face god on equal terms), but Akechi, in his own story, is at the part where he's been discovered in his trickery and punished for it, kept isolated (bar one person, in the myth), but still affecting the story (when Sigyn needs to empty the poison-filled bowl, Loki causes earthquakes because of the pain).

I suppose... that seen like this, of course Akechi's story is "messed up" by the method of him coming back; it doesn't fit into the narrative, exactly. But then, the thing that happens at the end of January is that his Personas merge/have a third awakening, into Hereward - and it isn't as if Loki's gone, exactly, as he's still part of what makes Hereward as much as Robin Hood is.

But in awakening to Hereward, Akechi breaks out of the cycle of Ragnarok that "being Loki" almost demands of him, narratively. He can be someone else, he can be himself, he can still have Loki, as that's not going to disappear... but he's no longer stuck as the Trickster who was used by the gods and attempts to bring down the end of all things and brings about his own death in the process (and that's speaking as someone who loves Loki as a trickster god).

[karistiltskin]

what if i said "but I would die for you in secret" but imagine merlin and arthur.

peace lyric analysis as merthur:

"Our coming-of-age has come and gone

Suddenly the summer, it's clear

I never had the courage of my convictions

As long as danger is near

And it's just around the corner, darling

'Cause it lives in me

No, I could never give you peace"

OUR COMING-OF-AGE?? okay, listen. as we know, arthur's coming-of-age moment is linked to his coronation. He literally has an episode called "The Coming of Arthur" parts one and two (S03 E12-E13). it's arthur becoming king and merlin starting to finally feel like he's getting somewhere with their destiny because of arthur's crowning. this is our setting. we're now in the after.

"I never had the courage of my convictions as long as danger is near" SHUT UPPPP SHUT UPPPP like actually oh my god. as long as danger is near is so so sick and speaks so loud. merlin absolutely does have the courage of his convictions and just to clarify, collins dictionary [colin morgan ;) ] states it as the confidence to do what you believe is right, even though other people may not agree or approve. BUT when arthur is in danger he does not do the "right" thing. he listens to the giant lizard instead or gaius (still love him) and does anything, anything, to make sure arthur doesn't get harmed no matter what.

rip morgana and getting poisoned.

rip mordred's entire existence.

although arthur attracts danger, merlin attracts just as much. and merlin is magic. (ugh, I'm getting sad and the only reason i won't cry is cause i'm in the middle of a lecture. a nighttime lecture). merlin can never give arthur peace because he is everything arthur was conditioned to hate. arthur can never give merlin peace because he's a king with expectations from Camelot and neighboring kingdoms. aka they can never be peacefully together without the threat of danger from them both and towards their relationship.

"But I'm a fire, and I'll keep your brittle heart warm

If your cascade ocean wave blues comes

All these people think love's for show

But I would die for you in secret

The devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me

Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?"

merlin lights arthur fires. that's it. that's the tweet.

merlin is also arthur's closest friend and confidant. he definitely gets arthur to see other perspectives on a situation and makes sure he remains compassionate and fair. for example, that look arthur gave merlin in S05 E11 during kara's trial?? my god. or the episode where arthur killed that one king's son under the influence of his uncle, the sleaze.

THEY WOULD DIE FOR EACH OTHER IN SECRET. NO ARGUMENTS. they've proved episode after episode again that they would no questions asked. people who don't know them just go "he's just a servant" or "you would choose him over your kind?" (ouch) not knowing the depth of their relationship. but yes. yes they would. and they would not have a single regret. they would deny the hell out of it but the proof is in their actions.

but you got a friend in me yes ma'am they do.

and it would be enough. it would. do they need a reminder that they were both born in mind of each other? that it was written since the beginning of time? that both of them have their own personal demons that instead of running away they'd take care of each other instead? that they're the most important person for each other and nothing can split them apart because they've grown to trust each other so much that their souls have intertwined? two sides of the same coin? other half of my soul, as the poets say???

"Your integrity makes me seem small

You paint dreamscapes on the wall

I talk shit with my friends

It's like I'm wasting your honor"

from arthur's pov he knows merlin is better than him. the way he interacts with people, his morals and values, his humbleness, just everything really. he pretends to be mad and upset about it but there's such deep admiration in it that he's actually self-aware.

dreamscape (google) definition: a landscape or scene with the strangeness or mystery characteristic of dreams

arthur finds merlin so strange!! so strange and mysterious.

the walls: i read this one fanfic on ao3 called "The Tragedy of Godhood" by Lilmia_Casand (read it!! it's so good. short, but beautiful) and the summary states:

"Merlin had gotten better at controlling his magic over the years, but it still spilled over, as if he were the source instead of someone calling upon it. It seeped into the castle walls, into the stone floors..."

This was the first thing I thought of (this quote stuck with me, it got bookmarked) and i couldn't have said it better. here's a play by play: arthur lives in a castle. the castle has walls. a lot of walls. he sees these walls everyday. the walls are familiar. the walls stay. the walls are forever. he can't imagine the castle without his walls.

walls = life/the future

magic is part of merlin's mystery because he's essentially hiding HIMSELF.

(does this make sense? no, prob not but bear with me)

there's an air about merlin where when you think about him, you realize you actually don't know much about him. he's a mystery. you know his jokes, you know where he's gonna be at whatever time of day (not the tavern, contrary to what arthur thinks), you know his favourite food. you don't know about his parents, you don't know why he saved arthur at his first feast, you don't know why he stays around.

arthur reflects on this and realizes it one day when merlin starts to become unavoidable in his mind. then he thinks, 'i really know nothing about this boy.' over time, merlin stays by his side, always, and arthur is so dependent on him that he starts worrying if he'll ever leave and if not him, camelot (he has abandonment issues 100%).

also see: S01 E10

hence, "you paint dreamscapes on the wall" is arthur saying, "you're the biggest mystery i've ever met and you make me wonder what every day will be like with you. will you be here tomorrow? and the day after that? until I'm married and have children who will favour you over me? will you be here to see them? to see me? i can't see it through the haze. i can't see you through the haze."

moving on—fuck that was so much longer than it needed to be—arthur and merlin talk shit about each other ALL THE TIME it's hilarious. and they know the one "bad" thing they talk about doesn't define their entire character because they hold each other in such high regard but... well...

(they definitely have regrets after)

"And you know that I'd swing with you for the fences

Sit with you in the trenches

Give you my wild, give you a child

Give you the silence that only comes when two people understand each other

Family that I chose, now that I see your brother as my brother

Is it enough?"

they both go all out for each other but with a focus on merlin, he goes ALL. OUT. it's war with him. nothing is half-assed. he fights, and fights, and never takes it less than seriously. but he also is there at arthurs lowest moments. when they're losing and when arthur is feeling too much or has too much on his shoulders. he's there. through it all.

merlin will give arthur anything he asks. he's already given him the purpose of his life and has hidden his magic until arthur's dying day because he thought that's what arthur needed and thought he would never accept him as he is so he gave it up.

but he's also given arthur the best thing he has. a friend. understanding. communication without words. souls recognizing souls, so much that the silence may be quiet but words are being exchanged through that same silence.

also, speechless eye conversations that range near the line of sexual tens—

then in the last line, merlin is saying: your people are my people. your burdens are my burdens.

"But there's robbers to the east, clowns to the west

I'd give you my sunshine, give you my best

But the rain is always gonna come if you're standing with me"

this goes both ways!! the only difference is that arthur's is visible and merlin's is hidden. explanation: arthur no doubt has enemies, it's not a secret. being a king and a target from the magic community, that man is almost getting killed everyday. it is not a peaceful life. he knows that. but nonetheless, he has shown merlin his best before—merlin is literally the reason he reaches the best person he can be, like the growth omg—so he knows he can give it but he knows there's a lot of baggage (external and internal) that comes with being with him.

as for merlin, his enemies are a secret. and they're dangerous. arthur faces some of those same enemies but from the product of what they've created, not them personally. no, merlin goes head-to-head with the people who curse/try to kill arthur. and he gives arthur a version of his best (he still has to keep many many secrets) but even if it's limited it's still genuine. although his secrets, his late nights, and his pure exhaustion are a part of him as well. and you can't have sunshine without rain.

okay ,WOW, i'm wrung out. it feels incomplete so i might add additional things later on but for now, enjoy.

once again, thank you if you read this, thank you bbc merlin, and thank you taylor swift.

(notice how i didn't use the word love once)

[cynthia39100]

Merlin rewatch -- S2E12: The Fire of Idirsholas

I felt like Morgana’s character development in the last ep (unimpactful but still important) was completely erased in this one… She was still saying things like “Pretend to be Uther’s loving ward when I hate him”when she'd made it clear to Uther last ep that she hated him and that she helped the criminal escape. She also said, “I believed he cared about me, but not anymore.” Uther obviously cared about her or else she would end up in the dungeon last ep. Also I thought she cut ties with Uther because she couldn’t tolerate Uther’s tyranny anymore, not that Uther didn’t love her.

On top of that, she was completely reduced to a trembling damsel later on in the episode, not only indecisive but unhelpful. It's not the 1st or 2nd time she wanted to kill Uther, with that dramatic parting with Uther, I expected her to be more determined. I guess it’s understandable that she felt confused or tricked since Morgause just tossed her there without explanation. But she was still left with the perfect situation to kill Uther. And if she regretted working with Morgause, she should just come clean to Arthur. Even if she didn’t know the solution, the more information the better.

Perhaps it’s supposed to show that Morgana saw the whole Camelot falling asleep and suddenly realised what she really agreed to, what was the potential consequences of ending Uther’s reign, and she hesitated. Before this she was so hot-headed and narrow-sighted that she didn’t see the harm she could cause by siding with these random criminals/sorcerers, now she was wavering and might have a chance to turn back if Merlin didn’t poison her.

But all I saw was that despite her talk of justice, of freedom, she was just easily swayed by other people’s pretty words and following without thinking. When it came to the point where she needed to make difficult decisions for herself she stopped. The writer wanted to make her sympathetic but I’m just annoyed.

[S2E12] [other episodes]

[cottonheartsxmateo]

One thing about me as I literally don’t watch new shows…like I’m not even joking

I can make a list of the stuff I literally just have on repeat

Mr. Iglesias(that shows literally on repeat everyday)

Fast and furious(but specifically 2 fast 2 furious. My dad and I quote that movie)

Day Shift (Dave Franco plays a very nice pathetic man)

21 jump street (i would watch every other day)

Victorious (i have an irrational hatred for the theme song)

Lab Rats (might get hate for this but i literally watched it 4 times to see if i hatred Bree as a character or if i was being sexist but no i just don’t like her)

911 and 911 LoneStar (my dad doesn’t like to watch on tv with me cause once I finish the show i just restart it from the beginning. He always watches it tho and is like “wait what happened)

Harry Potter (but specifically sorcerers stone and goblet of fire…Cedric’sdeath )): )

Grown ups and grown ups 2 (those movies are genuinely an every or their day thing)

Merlin (I’m not gonna lie i do skip the episode Merlin poisons Morgana)

I could keep going but this list is already super long. Misfits if the newest thing I’ve watched and i love it

[somegirlsnerdywords2]

Favourite Ongoing Webtoons

Morgana & Oz by Miyuli (75 Episodes | Fantasy, Romance)

Synopsis: What happens when a struggling witch meets an angsty vampire? Either love or war. Morgana belongs to a long line of witches, and Oz to the rival vampire clan. After a chance encounter… and maybe a few stray spells… these two need to find a way to work together, or risk all-out war between coven and clan.

School Bus Graveyard by Red (83 Episodes | Thriller, Horror)

Synopsis: Ashlyn is a loner in high school with no friends. But when a fateful visit to a haunted house causes her and her classmates to see monsters at night, she'll be forced to forge bonds to survive.

Moonchild by OHNYUN (82 Episodes | Horror, Giving those bl vibes)

Synopsis: Since childhood, Bak-ha has been able to see "things" that others can't. On the first day at his new school, Bak-ha meets Jindo, and due to the sickeningly sweet smell Bak-ha has, Jindo notices he is different, just like himself. As they get closer, Bak-ha finds out that he was the moonchild, the mythical creature who ruled the spirits in the past, and realizes that this is why the ghosts and demons are after him.

Men of the Harem by HereLee & Alphatart (163 Episodes | Romance, Reverse Harem, Fantasy)

Synopsis: Scorned by her lover and thrown into power after the mysterious assassination of her father, Latil must marry to secure her sovereignty of Tarium. Instead of choosing one man to become her Royal Consort, she chooses five young men from all walks of life to join her Harem. Will Latil ever solve her father’s murder, and can she keep the peace in her Harem?

A Martial Master Wakes Up as a Concubine by LICO & koyanghee (51 Episodes | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance)

Synopsis: Once a notorious master of the deviant sects, Nyeonbi Cheon pays a hefty price for her romance with a man of a virtuous sect, Won Gae of the True-spirited Sword. As her lover poisons her to death with a dragonsbane fruit, Nyeonbi perishes with more questions than answers. When she wakes up, however, she finds herself in a different sort of peril, as she reincarnates in the body of Noble Lady Soyeo Cheon, a concubine of the imperial palace. As Soyeo, Nyeonbi must rely on her knowledge from her past life to navigate both intrigue and romance in the palace!

[idiotwhotalkstoomuch]

Disclaimer: These details are what we have currently made and are subject to being changed in the future. I’ll post a notice if a major change is made.Disclaimer: These details are what we have currently made and are subject to being changed in the future. I’ll post a notice if a major change is made.

Makoto serves as the difficulty spike after Ryuji, Yusuke and Haru so her palace is much more complex than theirs. Due to how long this post got explaining how her palace works along with my own personal thoughts on Makoto, I will be elaborating more on Shadow Makoto's character in the post for her corrupted persona.

Niijima Homes

Heavenly Virtue: Temperance

Palace Ruler: Makoto Nijima

Treasure: Clipboard (Cognitive), Phone with Recording of evidence against Ryuji and Ann as Phantom Thieves(Reality)

Makoto's palace takes place in a city that on the surface looks completely normal. For a clearer image of what the city looks like, it's based on the city that Todoroki and Yaoyorozu fight Aizawa in on BNHA. The reason the palace looks so ordinary is that Shadow Makoto is a dictator who controls every aspect of the shadows and cognitions' lives.

Shadow Makoto is the city's mayor and she governs the city with an iron fist. The shadows and cognitions in the palace follow a strict set of rules under a rigid schedule that vary depending on their location. This ties into the virtue of temperance which is having a humble life through exercising restraint of our desires. Shadow Makoto enforces temperance by making everyone live the same modest life where everyone does and earns the same things. In this way, they can't be tempted by their desires for luxury as no one is living in better conditions than them. A rulebreaker is considered someone who was tempted by their want for more and is dealt with accordingly.

Appearance wise, Shadow Makoto sports a black high waisted latex pencil skirt that goes past her knees with a short side slit, sensible black pumps, A black and white structured buttoned jacket with large leg o' mutton sleeves in a herringbone fabric that ends at her waist, short black fingerless gloves with her nails almond shaped and painted a light beige. Her hair is kept in a bun with her headband and bangs intact. Makeup-wise, she is similar to Shadow Sae but her makeup is more smokey and her lips are nude.

There are inspector shadows littered across the palace who make sure all of the rules are being obeyed. If the Infiltrators are spotted disobeying the rules of an area they're in, they will be forced into battle and the inspector shadows are mini bosses that you are better off avoiding as another shadow will be summoned immediately after one inspector is defeated. These shadows can be exploited in more than one way, the first is by changing the rules but you can only adjust 2 rules at most because exceeding 2 will cause the inspectors to get suspicious and alert Shadow Makoto who resets the rules and increases security by 20%. The other way is by changing the schedules of the inspectors but this has to be carefully managed as if schedules overlap, they will be alerted there was tampering and security level increases by 20%.

Rules won't constantly be active as eventually, the rules will be shut down and specific areas of the palace get hit with poisonous gas to weed out the rule breakers. The game gives you the schedule for the gassing and you will be warned by Morgana 30 seconds in advance if you're in an area that's about to get gassed. If you ignore his warning and get gassed, the poison drains your hp and sp and it can infact kill you so be careful. It only lasts 8 seconds though so you're not doomed but healing may be necessary if you're not full health lol.

After a few areas get hit with poison, the rules will be restored to normal as the rule breakers are assumed gone but it will eventually come back after a certain period of time.

Security level will play a major part of Makoto's palace as for once it will actually impact gameplay (Congratulations Ohya, you're not completely useless). You can't just rush and kill a bunch of shadows per increase depending on the rules of your location and everytime you're caught breaking a rule Shadow Makoto will increase the level more and more until eventually she can give a 100% increase.

If you get to 100% security level, Shadow Makoto will release the toxic gas on the entire palace. The poison is more powerful than the regular variant and can in fact kill you at full hp so yeah don't test Shadow Makoto's tolerance (lookin at you Akechi).

Now the actual goal in Makoto's palace outside of not dying to the punishment for rule breaking is to sneak around to find out the keywords to unlock the entrance to Makoto's secret base under the fountain. The keywords are obtained from various shadows there: inspectors, the shadows who obey and the rulebreakers. The Infiltrators will at times have to trigger specific rules and schedules to unlock the keywords but once all are obtained, they can explore underground which has a military theme in contrast to the suburban city on the overworld.

At the end of this secret base is the entrance to Shadow Makoto's office, securing the treasure route.

Her treasure being the phone she used to blackmail the Thieves reflects how controlling Makoto is as her shadow. This blackmail incident, as scummy as it was, was how she got into the Phantom Thieves so her shadow distorts it into her thinking that her ends justify the means she uses. By forcing everyone to live the same modest lives, corruption can't spread and without corruption, honest and hardworking people won't have to suffer.

[tiodolma]

For the lyrics thing, there's this old song alone again naturally. and there's this verse :

But as if to knock me down Reality came around And without so much as a mere touch Cut me into little pieces

Leaving me to doubt Talk about, God in His mercy Oh, if he really does exist Why did he desert me In my hour of need I truly am indeed Alone again, naturally

It seems to me that There are more hearts broken in the world That can't be mended Left unattended What do we do What do we do

Alone again, naturally

and it just reminds me of Morgana

this gives me a lot of mixed feelings

on one hand everyone around morgana tried to not make her feel so alone like the way royals can: balls, parties, court, maids, cultural activities, letting her commit altruistic endeavors and be the voice of justice for the oppressed;

on the other hand, her dreams and visions cut her off from most of these people, her fellow nobility thought of her as weak, sickly, a little mad, embarrassing at times, servants deferred to her and kept their distance;

she was often drugged and kept in the dark, made to believe that her visions were just her imagination. she's like a bird in a gilded cage, like a she-wolf in the closet.

in that sense she was a lot lonelier compared to every other nobility;

and when she found her people, they were slaughtered mercilessly by her own family causing her to resent them even more;

when she continued desperately seek her people out, they manipulated her, used her, fed into her anger, lied to her, poisoned her, driving her further and further away from the life she had known, turning her to the path of a battle hardened destabilizer and usurper;

She then surrounded herself with other radicals, made allies, established goons. she captured pendragon-loyalists and tried to break down their morale to get her to join her. Established a network of connections loyal to her cause.

Answered cruelty with even greater cruelty.

By all means she had more people than any other political leader in their story.

And yet Morgana was still the entity at the top of the pyramid, The last high priestess, she had been told repeatedly, the lone true champion of their cause.

It was still essentially a very lonely world (being the savior of all.) It's an egotistical mindset (and she wasn't the only one with this.)

And then she paid for her sins multiple times. She found herself in the forest alone and half dead. She was captured, imprisoned and tortured in what was basically tomb with a creature that can't even talk. Two years she was left to her nightmares, her visions, her madness, the very things that kept others away from her since she was born.

And at the end of it all, after she committed her final act of revenge, she was slaughtered and left to rot in the elements by the very person she once believed in the most.

Talk about, God in His mercy Oh, if he really does exist Why did he desert me In my hour of need I truly am indeed Alone again, naturally

It's funny... the main characters who didn't want to be alone the most ended up as the most alone.

[dark-lina]

Morgana and Morgan more information

Well, I've been getting myself to  do it for some time... because I haven't written it down anywhere so this time come.

New Infos:

Morgana/Morgan and death

Morgana and Morgan can be killed, but not permanently. If their body is badly damaged they may lose consciousness for a while but after a few hours they will regenerate, but if they are badly damaged (heart pierced... or decapitated) their body will turn to mist and they will respawn in their lair after a few days to a few weeks. Only another vampire can kill them completely...that's why vampires usually don't fight each other.

Regeneration: If Morgana or Morgan lose a limb, it will grow back over time... the arm and legs regrow very quickly, especially if a normal weapon was used to cut them off, as well as wounds regenerated pretty quickly.

Weaknesses

Human killers will have a great deal of trouble even in the long run, hurting both vampires. however, it is not impossible, a well-aimed weapon can decapitate them, but it is not easy either. Ordinary steel damages their flesh for a short time. The stairs for them start as they deal with beings beyond human or completely inhuman. Pinhead can quite easily trap Morgan/Morgan and deprive them of the ability to use their powers. Scourge, as a priestess, has a holy weapon, and this can damage their skin for hours. Freddy can hurt them and kill them, but they can also move in the world of dreams and give back to him. Albert also has a pretty good chance against both vampires and Nemesis, although this fight could last many hours and be quite unprofitable. Onryo, just as these two are above human abilities as well as powerful curse magic, so he is on the list of those who could harm them. Both the Nurse and the Knight would have a pretty good chance, but they are not their enemy. Wrath, so like the nurse, but no business (he's friends with Morgana) As for the men with saws :) well, if you cut them in half, only fog remains. They, like his granddaughter, can easily compete with both vampires in strength and power. The Executioner is beyond human beings, but even though he would stand a good chance with both vampires, he's not interested in them, they don't have a soul, he can't read what they really are without one, so he's not interested in them. Morgana and Morgan consider Blight very dangerous, they don't know what his serum can do to them and how it can affect them. Though Morgana has undoed what Blight did to some killers a few times, how she did it is her sweet secret.

Sunlight (the real thing is deadly to them) The Entnity itself (human form) can kill them (but they will respawn) but it's not like they have no way to defend themselves against them. As for the spider legs themselves, they can easily deal with them.

Immunities:

Morgana and Morgan are undead, so what kills ordinary people doesn't impress them. Poisons and diseases that are deadly to humans do nothing to them. (Including viruses carried by Nemesis and Wesker) So is the temperature, no matter how cold or hot it is, they don't care. Though Morgana prefers warmth, especially her mortal friends and partners. Since they're undead, you can't drown them... they both breathe out of habit. However, both Fire... and Ice can cause very serious damage, forcing them to turn into mist and return to their lair to regenerate.

Morgana and Morgan are immune to the effects of ordinary alcohol and drugs ... however, there are substances that even a vampire can stupefy, which only Talbot knows.

Morgan Au:

What is the difference between Morgan's fog and Morgana's? Well the roles are kept the same, survivors are survivors, killers are killers.

 Morgan has the same role as Morgana... but his part of the fog is gender reversal ( or swap).

 Men are women and women are men. Example : Morgana Fog           Morgan Fog Michael Myers --> Michelle Myers Laurie Strode --- > Laurence Strode Amanda Young ---- > Amanda Young e.t.c

Differences between Morgan and Morgana

- Besides the fact that Morgana is female and Morgan is male, there are other differences between them. - Morgana is a bit calmer and more thoughtful, while Morgan is more short-tempered and sometimes instead of thinking, it works. - Morgan dominates in physical strength, but Morgana is superior in magic. (that's why Morgan's crypt is smaller xd) - Morgana prefers tidiness in her surroundings, Morgan doesn't much prefer cleaning. - Morgana doesn't filter (too much), Morgan flirts with everyone. - Morgana is more stable in her feelings and was able to build longer relationships. Morgan likes to jump from flower to flower and one-night stands. -Morgana wears special googles that allow her to navigate in fog more easily, Morgan doesn't have them. - Morgana doesn't run away from responsibility unlike Morgan.

Similarities

- Morgan and Morgana grow blue roses  (a special kind of vampire roses))that can help them recover faster, Morgana always carries at least one with her.

In case the vital functions cease (in a way), the flower wilts, transferring the blood to the host's body which it had previously drunk (as it was put into a glass of blood) and accelerates regeneration by a lot, so Morgana/Morgan are able to get up quite quickly, taking the opponent by surprise.

- They both can take animal forms, bat, cat, but also blood mist or final form which they use to fight.

- Morgana and Morgan have very good hearing and smell, what people do not feel they sense from many meters, and also hear, so it's hard to surprise them ... and they smell blood from several kilometers. Morgana distinguishes many of her friends by smell, as does Morgan.

Older infos:

What does Morgana/Morgan eat?

Morgana mainly feeds on blood, but she can also draw energy from dreams, and also mmm... from carnal pleasures;) Morgana, as she is over 100 years old or even more, can also supplement her diet with human food, but she does not draw energy from it.

What is Morgana's status in Fog?

Morgana is neither a killer nor a survivor, despite the fact that she can enter an already ongoing trial, she follows the rules and does not interfere with either side's , though sometimes she might.

She calls herself a merchant, but looking at how she can act on and shape fog is more than it seems.

She has no soul, so Entity has no control over her.

Morgana?Morgan and the Entity ?

Morgana (like Morgan) is able to defy the Entity, and she was able to use her magic to tear out a large chunk of the fog area for her use to create her graveyard.But she is not as powerful as the Entity, in the event of a face-to-face clash, she may hold her back for a while with her powers, or even fight back, but will rather choose to retreat.

Can she/he defeat the Entity?

Maybe if she turned 2,000 she could try anything.

Is Morgana is an Entity?

No she is not ;D

Will we ever meet Morgana/Morgan as Enitity?  

Maybe>.>

Morgana/Morgan and the survivors:

The survivors are the main customers of Morgana and Morgan, they get various goods for them.

Morgana/Morgan and the killers:

Some use her services, others do not pay for her services in the same way as survivors, through blood or dreams.

Morgana/Morgan and journeys beyond the fog

Thanks to the fog, Morgana can travel through different worlds and their different spacetime, but it requires a lot of energy from her, which makes her drink a lot of blood. In the fog itself, she moves with great ease and always appears wherever she wants to.The fog, however, is not the only place through which she/he moves between worlds.

My headcanon about Fog and my universe ( multiverse):

Fog is a dimension among other dimensions, therefore it has access to all worlds, another such world is the dimension created by me, you can read about it in my post. 

Teleport to City Between Dimensions ( ruins, can be open only by this who are related to Victor, or if you are Morgana/Morgan ;))

[chaossagaproductions]

One shot #5

Saint in Babylon

Onyx stumbled his way down an ally, looking into every dumpster he came across. “Pretty pathetic for a boy once called the Black Angel.” A voice that sounded suspiciously like Onyx’s father says, as he finds a bagel with very little mold on it, and devours it. Onyx starts coughing as the dry bagel reaches his even drier throat. This was gonna be how he died. Finally escapes the world of his father; the world of drug dealers, sex workers, and mob bosses; he’d escape by dying. There was too much blood on his hands, even at 16, he knew the only penitence would be his death. That’s the only way to pay for the lives he took. Onyx’s has to be a fool, thinking there’d be freedom once his father let him go. Believing he’d finally escaped from cruelty and captivity. Oh how wrong he was. 

He continues to stumble down the ally, trying to be quiet, to not disturb any of the restaurant workers, to not gain attention from anyone. He manages to find a little alcove by one of the dumpsters, must’ve belonged to a cafe, smelled like old espresso beans and pastries. This seemed like a good place to stay until the end finally came for him. Onyx sighs as he sits down. He of course knew he could survive, he had survived far worse conditions, but at least then he had hope. Hope that his father would see his only son wasn’t cut out for his world, hope that his mom was somewhere far better than him. He was a fool indeed. 

“Go on, Morganga! I’m just taking the last trash out back, go start the car!” A man shouts, making Onyx jump awake, causing him to hit his shoulder against the corner of the dumpster. “Please don’t be a raccoon, Morgana will wanna keep it, and it’l have rabies, and that just, that won’t be good.” The man says as Onyx holds his breath, making his heart slow down, just like he was trained, counting the number of steps the man takes to get to him. The man finally peaks over the dumpster, and takes a deep breath. “Well you are not a raccoon.” He says, and its so absurd that it makes Onyx laugh. Of course he wasn’t a raccoon, he was a hit man, for his mob boss father. “Hey! Kid! You alright?” The an asks, as Onyx finally cracks, his laughter no longer funny, bu hysterical, like fucking Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter. What an apt comparison, really. 

“Kid?” The man asks, now right beside Onyx, even though he’s retching now, but the only thing to come up is stomach bile. “Oh, shit.” The man says, as Onyx finally calms down. “I’m no raccoon.” He says, as the man blinks at him for a couple seconds, looking a little freaked out himself. “Right, of course you’re not, say, why don’t ya come with me? Looks like you could use some water.” The man says, as he stands up from his crouch, holding out a hand for Onyx. “Sure, what’s the worst you can do? I can’t be poisoned, my father made sure of that.” Onyx says, as he leans on the man, who stills under him. “I’m sorry?” The man asks, as Onyx shakes his head. “Forget about it.” Onyx mumbles, as they make it to the inside of the store. It was a cafe. “Antonio?” Another man asks Onyx goes stiff. “Morgana, can you get us some water, and I think there’s some chicken broth in the fridge still.” Antonio says as Morgana nods. “My husband.” Antonio says, as Onyx looks back to him, as he’s got a first aide kit.

“I don’t need that.” Onyx says as Antonio hums. “I just wanna look over that cut, on your head.” He says as Onyx shakes his head. “It’s fine.” Onyx says again, as Morgana comes back with the soup and water, and Onyx stomach growls at the smell. “Here.” Morgana says softly. “What were you even doing behind the dumpster?” Antonio asks, as Onyx slowly eats the soup, so he doesn’t throw up again. “Dying like a good little dog.” Onyx spits out, the conversation with his father still in his head. “The only good rabid dog is a dead rabid dog.” He quotes, as Antonio and Morgana share worried glances. “Kid, is there anyone we an call for ya?” Morgana asks as Onyx shakes his head no. “Nah, not anymore. My father ordered my execution, any of my contacts are quickly ditching my number and any favors I’m owed.” He says, taking a drink from the water bottle. “Thanks for the food.” Onyx says standing up as both men scramble to stop him. 

“Sit down.” Morgana says, flipping a switch in Onyx’s first impression. They were both dangerous, that was a given seeing as how they were unknowns, but Morgana was clearly more dangerous than Antonio, especially right now. “I’ll be fine on my own, always have been.” Onyx says as Morgana’s look hardens, yet still holds a softness, and Onyx, he hates that. He ain’t weak, and he doesn’t need to be handled like a fucking victim. “Don’t look at me like that.” Onyx sneers, as Antonio tries to step in front, but Morgana stops him. “Like what? Like a kid way in over their head? Cause that’s what ya look like to me.” Morgana says, as Onyx jumps up from his seat. “Hey fuck you man, I didn’t ask for you or your boytoy’s help, alright? I was perfectly capable of dying in that goddamn alley all by myself.” Onyx says as Morgana is pushed aside and Antonio’s in Onyx’s face. “Okay, fine, we get it, don’t we, Morg? The kid here is perfectly fine dying all on their own.” Antonio says, grabbing Morgana’s hand and dragging him out of the kitchen via the front door as Onyx watches them, and sighs. 

“Wait!” Onyx says, a little desperate, as Antonio and Mogana stop, Anonio turning around. “Please, I, I changed my mind.” Onyx says, looking at the floor, as Antonio and Morgana nod at each other. Onyx hears footsteps and waits for either the shouting or hitting. “Kid?” Antonio asks, as Onyx looks up. “I’m Onyx, and, and I think, I need help.” Onyx says as Antonio crouches down in front of him. “We’d love to help.” He says, as Onyx sees the compassion and the earnest in his eyes, and he gets a little uncomfortable. Onyx didn’t need compassion, or at least, thats what he was told. “Shall we go home? Have some real dinner, and get you cleaned up?” Morgana asks, also crouching down, as Onyx looks at the two. “I’m a stranger, though.” Onyx says as Morgana shrugs. “Yeah, you are, but you don’t gotta be.” Morgana says as Onyx feels his cheeks get wet. “What? You guys have a leak?” Onyx asks, as Antonio shakes his head. “No, but, thats alright.” Antonio says, reaching towards Onyx’s face as Onyx flinches a little, but relaxes as Antonio gently wipes tears away.  “Lets go home.” Antonio says as Onyx nods.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This little blurb is kinda how Antonio and Morgana gained custody of Onyx, after he gets tossed out by his father; or at least an idea of how he becomes their responsibility. It's all subject to change, of course, but this is the gist of how they met each other.