#except for the merlin appearance at the end

[thedaselcor]

Tiwasday, the 4th of October, 522

Will’s eyes traced slowly along the curves of Merlin’s body as he got dressed, pausing to watch Merlin lace the two sides of his undershirt tighter, and tighter.

“Why bother with all that? If you can change it with magic, I mean.”

“It’s just a backup,” Merlin explained, casting a soft glance and warm smile over his shoulder at Will before bringing his attention back to the mirror. “In case anything happens, I like to make sure I look as close to the same as possible without the magic.”

“In case what kind of anything happens? Do you go around falling unconscious a lot when I’m not looking?”

“Aren't you always looking?” Merlin teased, before adding, “it’s not really in case of anything, I just want to look as much like myself as possible. So,I keep my hair the same, I build the muscles, I wear the undershirt, and I only make subtle changes to my face no one but you and my mother would ever even notice… in case. ”

ɱ

It had seemed foolproof, back in Ealdor. Merlin had known who he was young enough that he’d been able to grow into his system without anyone really knowing. He changed little enough about his appearance with magic that someone would need to be exceptionally close, and pay exceptional attention to his face and general appearance to ever notice a change,even if the magic did fail him someday, somehow. 

Later that month, when Merlin’s mother sent him to Camelot, it seemed his secret was even safer. In Camelot he was going to be even more of a nobody, a physician's apprentice. Who would pay that close attention to a nobody ? Who in Camelot could possibly know his face well enough to notice the subtle changes if he was somehow rendered unconscious?

To Merlin’s credit, Arthur didn't notice the first few times. They’d actually known each other well over a year when the inevitable day finally came. 

Frigsday, the 29th of Martius, 524

Arthur burst into Gaius’s workshop, carrying Merlin, unconscious, in his arms. The storm raging inside him entirely overshadowed the practically apocalyptic storm of rain and lightning outside.

“He’s been stabbed. Poisoned, I think,” Arthur declared, panic beginning to creep into his voice as he neared the end of the clear series of actions he’d known he had to take to save Merlin. Action had always been easy for Arthur. The rest… not so much.

Gaius indicated Merlin’s room with a slight nod and a serious eyebrow, as he sprung into action and gathered the necessary medical supplies. Arthur followed the direction. Once he’d laid Merlin down he removed his shirt and cut the bottom of his undershirt to expose the quickly festering stab wound on his side. Then, he sat back, perched in worry but letting Gaius work.

ɱ

“I don’t think anyone else saw…” Arthur said, once Merlin seemed relatively stable, partly to Gaius, and partly to the empty space in front of him just to process the shock. “Anything interesting I mean, anything…” He sighed heavily before adding, “my father can never know about this.”

Gaius nodded, solemnly. “Not if you want Merlin to live, no,” he answered after a long pause. 

It was a testament to Gaius’s character that he didn’t bother to mention his own life also hung in the balance. Gaius had chosen to be so entirely devoted to Merlin’s care and protection since Hunith had sent the young sorcerer to him that his own part in the equation had long since lost all relevance. 

Arthur was acutely aware that he’d just made a very similar choice by bringing Merlin to Gaius for treatment, by choosing this of all possible paths. And yet, he couldn’t regret it, regardless of the legal and filial weight of his choice.

ɱ

Arthur sat with Merlin until dawn broke over Camelot, never sleeping, but he could stay no longer. For one thing, his duty as a prince had to come first, despite his world altering decision. For another, if he was absent much longer it would cause a panic, and a panic would bring nothing but pain down on Merlin and Gaius.

“If he wakes…when he wakes,”Arthur started, as he bid Gaius goodbye--but he couldn’t bring himself to actually form the feelings into words. Instead, he let out a sigh and settled on “I’ll have a list of duties ready for him, when he’s well.” Like the story so far? Check it out on Ao3!

[tiffaluvr]

worried for the people they love -> sadness

love's side effects, I guess

[bigfan-fanfic]

My Blooming Rose (Enchantress' Child!Reader x Ben Florian)

@iliumheightnights Hi friend! May I please request a little story? I'd love to read a story about Ben Florian dating a son of the enchantress reader. Reader still is learning magic and Ben helps him when he can and encourages him? All the fluff please?

In some respects, no one would necessarily blame your boyfriend's father for wanting to imprison your mother on the Isle of the Lost.

She did, after all, enchant a young, albeit spoiled, prince and condemn him (an eleven-year-old, mind you) to ten years of suffering and self-loathing in a body not his own.

But no. King Adam and his Queen would never have met if not for the Enchantress.

Besides, they learned well from the example of Queen Leah and King Stefan - don't piss off the magical entity in close proximity.

And so the Enchantress lived within Auradon, and you, her child, were born.

You're not sure you quite approve of the whole Isle of the Lost thing - your mother's punishments tended to get to people before they became irredeemable, so the idea of endless incarceration seems harsh, even by her standards.

But all the same, you are invited to Auradon Prep, mainly to study with the Fairy Godmother to hone your talents in magic. And since you aren't expected to enter a royal line, you don't even have to do some of the more inane Auradon courses.

But who would have thought that without any magic at all, you'd have ensorcelled the heart of Prince Ben.

Ben is just a spot of sunshine in your world, he's so affectionate and lovely.

And supportive!

He's figured out the loophole in the rule that he can't spend all his free time with you by organizing "study dates" in addition to normal dates.

But since magical homework and study is pretty involved, that just means he hangs around in your dorm with you more often than not.

Not that either of you mind.

Except this can sometimes lead to minor mishaps.

You're practicing a spell in the mirror, meant to help disguise someone by changing their appearance.

Focusing on your hair, trying to lengthen it just a little. Just a small test.

But then Ben leaps up to kiss you on the cheek and you wave the training wand just a little haphazardly-

And Ben gets a face-full of your magic.

"Oh my gosh, Ben! Are you okay?"

"Yup!" Ben groans from the floor. "Nothing broken. I think."

He hops back up to his feet, and you gasp.

Your boyfriend's smooth jaw has sprouted patchy growths of hair that are still thickening until they make a rather nice beard and mustache. "Ben... I..."

Ben sees himself in the mirror and grins. "Oh, this is nice!"

"It was an accident."

"If even your accidents are this great, you're gonna be a better wizard than Merlin!" Ben pats your shoulder before stroking his new beard. "It's not even scratchy!"

You blush. "You look really good with a beard."

"Do I look kingly?" Ben asks eagerly, striking a pose.

"You do, but let's try and find a counterspell quickly. Accidental magic tends to corrupt pretty fast. You might end up with the hair changing colors like a chameleon or something."

"That actually sounds kinda-"

"And then I wouldn't be able to see where to kiss you."

Ben instantly gets serious. "Let's hit the books."

"But uh... when you do reverse the spell... Maybe try it on purpose? I wanna see what kissing with a beard is like."

You grin. "Oh really? Why?"

"Cause when you're my Royal Consort, I'll probably grow out a beard and kiss you all the time, so... I wanna see what I'm working toward."

You laugh and then squeeze his hand. "In that case, let's get this thing reversed as soon as we can."

"Love you. My blooming rose."

"Love you. My noble king."

[medievalandfantasymelee]

THE HOT MEDIEVAL & FANTASY MEN MELEE

FIRST ROUND: 10th Tilt

Sir Leon, BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012) VS. Samwise Gamgee, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Propaganda

Sir Leon, BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012) Portrayed by: Rupert Young Defeated Opponents: - Merlin Emrys [Colin Morgan], Merlin (2008-2012)

“Camelot's loyalist and hottest knight. He was with Arthur from the beginning and stood by him throughout (even when Merlin started teaching him poetry). Leon the long-suffering deserves to be recognized in his own right for the tall, wavy-locked master of the sword that he is.”

Samwise Gamgee, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Portrayed by: Sean Astin Defeated Opponents: - Rand al’Thor [Josha Stradowski], The Wheel of Time (2021-)

“Prime husband material. The bestest man -er, Hobbit. HE'S A GARDNER. He hits orcs with a frying pan. HE CAN'T CARRY IT FOR YOU BUT HE CAN CARRY YOU-!”

Additional Propaganda Under the Cut

Additional Propaganda

For Sir Leon:

“This man. Cannot die. He was originally supposed to be toasted in his first appearance like every other redshirt knight in Merlin, but he was so hot and cool, and fans loved him so much they kept bringing him back and even made him a supporting lead.”

For Sam Gamgee:

“He is the ideal man. He cooks, he gardens, he's loyal, he'd follow you to the ends of the (Middle) Earth while only mildly complaining. He's so loveable. I love him. He probably gives awesome hugs and never says an unkind word about anyone except for Gollum but Gollum kinda deserved it for calling Sam fat. He is also, reportedly, an awesome dad. I love Samwise Gamgee so much. He's such a teddy bear I love him so much. Frodo should've married him.”

[babybatss-blog]

SUMMER HAZE

Sirius x f!reader (850 words)

authors notes: Warning, this is a little bit of a horny one! Things are getting warmer so I thought this would be fitting

cw: sexual suggestions, kissing.

summary: a summer black lake day with your favourite black bf <3

The new summer breeze brings Hogwarts Academy a rare yet opportune streak of bright blue skies, accompanied by the welcomed buzz of bumble bees and students flying above in the warm sunlight. With the holidays drawing near and end of year exams coming to a close, students are often finding themselves with nothing better to do than spend time by the black lake, soaking in the bright rays. You and your friends are no exception.

It’s a lousy Sunday afternoon when you present to Lily, Marlene, Mary, and Dorcas the possibility of going for a swim, which they jump at as an opportunity to distract from the blistering heat. The castle may be a solid freezing temple during the winter, but it seems that it is not well equipped for rare heat streaks such as this. You pack your towels and put on your bathers, luckily finding a spot on the pier empty for use.

Today appears to be another relaxing end of school term day, as you, Lily and Mary bring books and Marlene and Dorcas go for a swim, but these meditative plans are abruptly put on hold as soon as you hear the ruckus jeers from the marauders.

“Merlin, your boyfriends here.” Lily pouts, clearly unenthusiastic by the appearance of Sirius, James, and their two best mates. The boys take no notice of this, confidently strutting over to you in their overtly tight trunks and cocky smirks. Sirius and James seem much too pleased to see the staring crowd at their arrival, while Remus and Peter loiter behind as to not draw in anymore attention than has already been caught.

“Hello my darling” Sirius greets you, a signature smoulder on his pale face. Although you have been with him for a considerable amount of time already, his smooth words never fail to make you blush. He plops himself down next to you, throwing an arm around your shoulder and pinching your book from your hands despite your protests. “No need for that my dear. After all, your gorgeous, sexy, amazing boyfriend is here.” You roll your eyes, despite secretly agreeing with this notion. You would never let him know though; his ego is already big enough as it is.

“Hey Sirius” you smile, taking in his beautiful features. He isn’t necessarily buff in physique, but nevertheless his lean abs gleamed in the sunlight along with his rosy cheeks and long eyelashes. How you managed to garner his attention you never know, but sometimes he makes you feel so beautiful you almost see his point of view.

And today is no exception. You take your book back from him so you can enjoy the day how you please, but it appears Sirius has other plans as he runs his hand up and down your thigh. His hand inches further and further up your leg, causing you to find it difficult to focus on your page. You glance over at him, and he smirks. He knows exactly what he’s doing. In order to stop him, you hold his hand, which doesn’t necessarily work either. Instead, Sirius kisses your neck soft and slow. “Sirius…” you mumble, slightly embarrassed by the fact that some students are looking over at you. He hums but continues to leave soft kisses up to your jawline. Rolling your eyes you give up on reading and set the book down, knowing that it was never going to last anyways. “I won” he murmurs, before locking lips with yours into a passionate kiss. You get lost in the moment, adrift in your bound love display as your hands tangle in his silky hair and his roam your back. You almost forget where you are, before Sirius picks you up and jumps of the pier!

The cold water hits your body and surrounds you, only void in the front half of your body that is still enveloped around Sirius. Once your heads break the water you gasp for air, but Sirius merely laughs. “You prick!” You exclaim, Pushing away from him despite the smile on your face. You don’t even get the moment to recollect yourself before James, Lily and Peter Jump in over you leaving a massive splash in your direction. You laugh, shocked by the sudden shift in mood before being encased by Sirius from behind. He kisses your shoulder, paddling in the water together as you watch the others swim around. His warmth swarms you, like a blanket on a harsh windy day. You spin around, arms around his shoulders and eyes engaged with one another. “You’re such a dummy.” Although these words seem harsh, your voice is filled with adoration. “And you’re so embarrassing.” He replies, with the same tone.

As the sun shines above, the water shimmers around you and the air is filled with students laughter. The day is absolutely perfect, and spending it with Sirius seems like a dream come true.

[interstellarsystem]

Disorder Differences in Systemmates

Systemmates share the same brain, which often leads to the assumption that they're all affected the same by the brain itself. Its wiring, its abilities, and its disabilities. But symptom holders or those with intra-disorders are fairly common--at least in circles we run in--and they're not often talked about for fear of fakeclaiming or appearing ableist. We have headmates who are affected in all sorts of different ways by our disabilities. Some find things harder than others, while others actually find some tasks or symptoms easier to manage. It absolutely varies from headmate to headmate, which makes certain headmates better suited for fronting during certain times than others.

Merlin is more affected by our psychosis, particularly hallucinations, and xe tends to be more susceptible to paranoia. Mystery is a psychosis holder too, and has more positive symptoms like hallucinations than the rest of us, but is less affected negatively by it. It often hallucinates and falls into delusional thinking, but it's not really too bothered by it. So Mystery is a good choice for someone to front when we're having a psychotic episode. Sometimes, having Merlin cofront with Mystery makes it easier for Merlin to not be so susceptible to xyr symptoms.

I (Martin) have more obvious anxiety than the rest of us, and struggle much more in social situations. I'm much better at hyperfocusing on tasks, though. So I'm better suited for staying home and working on whatever the current project we have at the time, or keeping our to-do lists in check. Vince on the other hand is calm in most social situations that are more professional--so he's good for business meetings and such. In more casual conversation though, Vena and Merlin are much better at it and better suited to non-professional social groups.

Vince is an intra-NPD holder and also holds stronger symptoms of our BPD. He struggles immensely with percieved rejection, much more than the rest of us. But he also almost completely lacks empathy, which makes it much easier for him to be calm and logical in stressful situations. He finds it easier to help friends and those he cares about during stressful times because he's not weighed down by feeling their emotions--whereas the rest of us might break down from stress.

We talk a bit about mental disability differences in headmates more than those who differ physically. Somehow it seems more controvertial to mention that we have headmates that differ with physical symptoms while even in safe system spaces. It seems like most people (us somewhat included) mainly think of symptom holders as a mental disorder thing--a line of thinking we're trying to dispel. Headmates can have different disabilities and symptoms of all kinds, and it's not ableist or "harmful" to know that and speak about it. Headmates with different conditions to the body need to be recognised more.

Mike needed a cane in his memories and he absolutely needs our cane when he fronts more than the rest of us. He feels more at home and like himself having a cane by his side here, though, so it's good we already had one. I (Martin) need it more too--my joints are just more prone to pain. But our cane folds up nicely into our bag, so if we switch out in public, it's always with us just in case. Even if it's silly, we feel safer having a cane too--I mean, it's a metal pole. We're out as trans and clearly not your Regular Society Member, so it provides some feeling of safety to have.

Jayfeather was blind before, and since coming here he sure can see now, but he's much more light sensitive than the rest of us. The feeling of being able to see was nice at first, even if it was foreign, but sometimes he feels it's not worth the hassle. He needs to wear sunglasses when fronting because his eyes just end up hurting from even small amounts of light. Crowley is the same, except he wasn't blind in his memories--he just got used to always wearing sunglasses in his life to hide how his eyes looked, and needs them here now. They're both more prone to migraines due to this.

Merlin is more shaky on his feet than others who front often. His legs are digitigrade and in headspace he has his wings and tail to balance him there--but in the body, he doesn't have any of that. His legs are the wrong shape and he has no counterweight to his posture. Even with our cane, he's more prone to tripping than most.

Mystery was a godlike being that didn't need to eat human food, or any physical food at all. It often forgets that eating, sleeping and going to the bathroom are things the body needs to do, because it doesn't often feel the need to do them. That can be good if we're running low on food, or if we can't eat for a while such as before a medical procedure though, so it's useful in its own way. Mystery is also not used to using its hands for intricate things like tying shoelaces, as it's hands before we're longer, bigger, and mainly nonphysical. It didn't need to be intricate, so it's hard for it to do things others in here can.

There's so many more examples in our system. The thing is, there can be positives and negatives to any disorder, really--and headmates are no different with that. We don't necessarily assign headmates "roles" or "jobs" based on their symptoms or lack thereof, but for us to function better as a collective, people tend to gravitate toward doing certain things they know others can't. It's important for us to know how we differ with our disabilities, and work around them together as best we can.

Systemmates with different symptoms aren't uncommon, and they're not mocking disabled people, or lying for some benefit. I'd argue that for some systems with symptom holders or intra-disorder holders, it's increcibly important to know about how you differ and how to work together to be functional--whatever functional means for you.

[viktorpartner]

✨ THE DAN AND PHIL LORE pt. 2✨

CHECK OUT PART 1: https://www.tumblr.com/ashleyeveerson/760695134744723456/the-dan-and-phil-lore-pp?source=share

Oh sweet 2015... A trip to Japan, which is dubed by DANIEL HOWELL HIMSELF as Japhan, leads to a fan theory in which Dan and Phil supposedly got married there which they talked about in a recent video i can't believe this is real. IN OTHER NEWS: The Amazing Book is Not on Fire is published and Dan and Phil go in their first tour ever!!! TATINOF is just ICONIC, just treat yourself and watch the musical number "The internet is here" THEY. TAP. DANCE.

The boys are touring worldwide which gives us very cute pictures of them holding koalas (awww). They also attend the Bronca in which they win EVERY PRIZE TOGETHER except "streamer of the year" which Phil won only to beckon Dan to get onstage so they could share it (THEY MAKE ME SICK). The iconic clip "Can Phil express an opinion?" is also born and Dan blesses our ears by dropping the rap of the century: ROAST YOURSELF CHALLENGE a month without uploading he comes back with a tag THAT NO ONE EVEN TAGED HIM ON

Things are changingggg... Dan ditches the "Dan is not on fire" name and brand of his channel to reflect the changes in his content. He then uploads "Dan and Depression", in which he opens up for the first time about his struggles with mental health (it's a great fucking video go watch it).

Phannies and Phil himself rejoice when Dan decides to embrace the hobbit hair and ditch the straightners (RIP the fringe). And as part of april fool's day a strange video named "Dan and Phil crafts" is uploaded to YT (idk what to say go watch it yourselves). THEY ALSO MOVED TO PHLAT 3 ON LONDON [which we would later discover were 2 separate flats; one to live in and one to record in] (some fans theorized about it before they confirmed idk ya'll scare me)

In 2018 they embark on their second tour "INTERACTIVE INTROVERTS" but the vibes in the channel all lead to the end of an era... Phil ditches the fringe (RIP), the final video of Dan vs Phil is recorded and the LAST AND 10th TATINOF gets uploaded. Now... the nostalgic vibes of this video, the love they have for their fans, the recreation of the first picture they ever took... YEAH THIS ONE ALWAYS MAKES ME SOB -- we enter the INDEFINITE HIATUS --

LOOK AT THEM :( something, something about despite everything, it's still you...

now we enter.... THE DARK AGES. Dan basically disappears from the internet while Phil keeps on uploading on his solo channel with no mention of him. So after everything, WHAT HAPPENED TO PHAN? DID WE GO TOO FAR AS A FANDOM? ARE WE THE BAD GUYS? Let's take a trip down Phandom history, shall we?

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So in the peak years of Dan and Phil uploading a VERY LARGE group had appeared on Tumblr which was soley focused on so called "EVIDENCE" of Phan being canon. Now... the problem being that using the term CANON with real people is problematic to say the least. The relationship speculation that had thrived on fictional tv shows such as Merlin, Supernatural or Sherlock was now being IMPOSED upon two very real people. NOT fictional characters, just two blokes with feelings and a right to privacy.

SO WHO GOT IT RIGHT?? was it the crazy theorists, did Dan and Phil share the sonic underwear, clothes and a bed? Or was it all a lie? A bad rumour? A comercial decision to get more money from the phans? well WHICH IS IT?

WHAT IS THE TRUTH? WE. WANT. ANSWERS.

...

YIKES! Turns out that there is no answer, because we as fans ARE NOT ENTITLED TO THE PRIVACY OF OUR IDOLS. We only deserve as much as Dan and Phil are comfortable and willing to share about their lives with us... Oh and Dan? He has something BIG to share

Yeah so, words can even begin to explain how much this video meant to myself and may others... For me it was the first video I ever saw of someone actually coming out on camera, it was a beacon of light, a promise that things CAN eventually get better and a very brave fucking thing for Dan to do. He gave hope to thousands of young people who were just as lost as he had once been, he became the representation he so desperately needed when he was just a depressed kid. Just, go watch it. It's wonderful, it's a masterpiece, it's funny and heartbreaking in equal parts and above all... it's SO authentically Dan.

So where does that lead us... Let's dissect the popularity of Phan shall we? A LOT OF FANS WERE JUST FETISHISING MEN FOR NO REASON, TRUE. But a lot of them were also queer and exploring their sexuality through the safety of a m/m pairing. Since historically most yuri was catered around men and hetero romance tended to objectify women, slash paring became a way for a lot of girls to explore sex and love. That is, within the safety of removing themselves completely from the pairing. Go read this article if you wanna know more about women's fascination with slash media: https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/why-women-love-slashfic

SO SURPRISE, WE ALL TURNED OUT TO BE QUEER!!! Like ofc there was a toxic side of it, but there were also a lot of queer kids who desperately searched for public figures they could relate to.

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Now a couple of edits before returning to the Phan timeline bc these slides turned out to be WAY heavier than intended: Look at my boy Dan look at him!!! Look at him showing those grippers, feeding a deer, going proudly to his first Gay Parade!!!

PHIL LESTER MY BELOVED... dan I can and will fight you on the title of Phil's num 1 trash he'd probably win who am i kidding he's so in love with this man istg

PART 3 RIGHT HERE: https://www.tumblr.com/ashleyeveerson/760714622028349440/the-dan-and-phil-lore-pt-2?source=share

[starrieisdelusional]

Must we really rely on fate?

a somewhat proper rambling of how i want bbc merlin plot to go (a fix it au)

Season 1 : The One They Call Emrys

Season 1 is going to stay as a light-hearted season to introduce the world of Merlin. The general plot stays the same with a few additions:

merlin shows doubt in gaius / kilgharrah decisions

the old religion is more apparent

Dragons and dragonlords aren’t extinct but very endangered

merlin empathizes with morgana but never decided to help her

introduction of elyan: he doesn't stay in camelot, opting to travel instead

Gwen's father didn’t die (To Kill a King never happened)

Nimueh didn't die

Morgause appears in the last episode

The Poisoned Chalice is going to be the season's finale (the episode where nimueh poisons merlin) as the climax of the season with higher stakes and it will be up to Arthur to save the day.

Season 2 : The Veils of Deceit

From here on out, the canon episodes becomes less relevant. As the title suggest, this season is more plot heavy. Uncovering hidden truths and digging deeper into the main cast's past:

the introduction of mordred: everyone loves him except for merlin, and by i mean everyone, i mean, gwen, arthur, morgana, leon, anyone you can think of, he is a lot more involved in the show than just appearing for 3 episodes

introduction of balinor on the first episode

balinor acts as merlin's mentor figure for this season and their meeting goes something like this (balinor: ...you can speak to dragons...? merlin: is that not common or something?)

balinor meets hunnith

merlin doesn't know balinor is his father until it's too late

ygraine situation happened exactly as it is in the show

ygraine acts sort of like a guardian angel of arthur but unable to fully communicate with him

Arthur has started getting skeptical towards uther.

Arthur-centric episodes: there should at least be one episode where the main lead is Arthur instead of Merlin (example: arthur's POV when merlin is at the tavern)

morgana finds out about her origins

Introduction of Percival and Gwaine

merthur kissed (they never talked about it because they're depressing like that)

dragonlords in this au are going to be a bit different than dragonlords in canon. Instead of controlling dragons, dragonlords and dragons build mutual respect.

As the season progress, kilgharrah lost hope of merlin and decided to turn to nimueh instead. Nimueh attacked the castle with kilgharrah but they lost with the exchange of balinor's life. In this battle Merlin finally acquire his dragonlord powers.

After the battle, it is shown that Morgana has joined side with Morgause. Kilgharrah has joined her too, dissapointed at Nimueh's failure.

Season 3 : The Collapse of Uther

Season 3 follows the canon premise: morgana's corruption and uther's end:

aithusa is born (everyone adores her)

aggravaine appears as a minor character in an episode

morgwen romance

nimueh isn't really active now that morgause is taking control of things and decided to leave it up to her even if she doesn't like her

nimueh warns kilgharrah about morgause

In this AU, morgana's goal is to only get magic legalized in camelot, and the season portrays those attempts. She plans to keep everyone out of it.

But as the season progresses Morgana is getting more and more agitated at arthur's complacency, especially after gwen's father's death. Her irritation is further amplified after she found out that she's uther's bastard daughter.

She felt especially betrayed when she found out that Merlin is the legendary Emrys and he decided to do nothing for them, opting to stay to uther's side.

Following all of this, Morgana ratted Merlin out to the entire court. This goes on a back and forth with Arthur getting Merlin out of jail (he still doesn’t believe Merlin has magic) and Morgause attacking citadel.

At the end, Morgause forces Merlin to kill uther with his magic to save arthur’s life. Betrayed, Arthur banned Merlin from Camelot.

Season 4: Darkness Before Dawn

Season 4 is set about 1 year after uther’s death and the start of arthur’s journey to find out what it means to be king. S4 will went back and forth in time, switching between the present and the following events that happened:

even if merlin is ‘gone’, he actually stays in camelot, protecting the kingdom, out of arthur’s sight (this often shows in assassins showing up dead or citadel having so much harvest and resources they don’t know what to do with it)

everyone decided to ignores this

the roundtable is established

mordred becomes a knight

morgana has separated from morgause

morgana was furious at what morgause did at the finale of season three. she never wanted uther to die and didn’t want merlin to get banned. Morgana thinks arthur is not ready to be king

Kilgharrah stayed with morgause longer than morgana did until he realized that morgause is dangerous but got enslaved by her

Merlin later saves him

Morgause is now working with aggravaine who becomes one of the nobles at the house of pendragon

Aggravaine wants to take the throne from arthur and much more evil and manipulative

Aggravaine is court advisor

S4 is explores more political stuff in albion ( in depth look at other kingdoms, their thoughts on sorcery, etc etc)

merlin lives with morgana, aithusa, and kilgharrah in the woods. They made truce with each other

cendred is introduced and is working together with morgause and aggravaine

nimueh becomes merlin's mentor figure and occasionally visits him and morgana

(i’m considering to make this blank period of season 3 and 4 into a new season considering how much happened 😭)

In early episodes, there was a time where Merlin’s magic disappeared for days. Arthur got restless and decided to scout him out as a kid by drinking a youth potion that Gaius gave him.

Arthur found Merlin injured and tend to his injuries. Morgana found them days after. To stay with them, arthur keeps the pretends of being a stupid kid who visits morgana and merlin occasionally while trying to balance his life in the kingdom as king.

Gwen founds out about all of this from Gaius and drink an aging potion, disguising herself as kid arthur’s grandma so merlin and morgana wouldn’t get too suspicious. The knights are in the know and covers for Gwen and Arthur disappearance.

Arthur gets less and less involved with the throne, disappearing, falling asleep in meetings, more often than not Aggravaine has to stepped in to replace him. The court is displeased with Arthur, especially because he made choices that they considered are too soft.

Aggravaine manage to manipulate the court into favoring him and takes the throne from Arthur through majority votes. Declaring himself as king.

An assassination attempt is made on Aggravaine and he declares Arthur guilty, having an excuse to sentence him to death, he sends Arthur to be executed. Merlin with a few other people helped him escape, making them an enemy to Camelot.

Season 5: The Weight of a Crown

S5 is set right after S4 with aggravaine as king and the main cast live together in morgana and merlin's cottage:

aggravaine legalized magic

aggravaine made morgause a noble in the royal court

aggravaine ruled as a tyrant, letting magic thrive with him

arthur reconsile with merlin and morgana

ealdor's massacre: aggravaine attacked ealdor in order to find merlin and in this event, hunnith dies, along with everyone in the village

gaius dies

arthur didn't do anything in the beginning because he genuinely thinks that his uncle is the perfect candidate for a king. With magic also legalized, there's nothing left he needed to do.

Arthur will eventually see that Aggravaine's rule brings nothing but misery. He went on a journey to obtain excalibur and took the throne back from him. Morgause has managed to escape once again.

Season 6: The Once and Future Kingdom

s6 is a somewhat epilogue and wraps up loose ends with the main cast set in the following positions in the House of Pendragon:

Arthur: King

Merlin: Court Dragonlord, Court Physician, and Consort

Gwen: Court Advisor or Head of the house

Morgana: Court Sorceress

Aithusa: Court Dragon

Mordred: Heir to throne

these are some things that happened:

merthur got MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

merlin got a staff from arthur

camelot allied with the druids

we'll get to know more about morgause past

As the main cast live their happily ever after, the threat hasn't completely been eradicated with morgause on the loose and aggravaine still alive in the dungeons. The final villain for this story will be the triple goddess / destiny themselves that wants the prophecy of Arthur sleeping in Avalon for 2000 years to come true because that's how it supposed to go but merlin and arthur managed to rewrite their story

THE END!!!!!!!!! (some things to be changed)

===========================================

To find all my other ramblings about this AU, click the links below or filter with the hashtag #must we really rely on fate?

AU Outline:

Additional Links:

Old Masterlist

Why Merlin isn't Queen / King / Court Sorcerer / Court Advisor

Merthur Reunion (now discarded)

Magic Reveal Aftermath (will be updated on a new post)

[flymetosnarryland]

GTFO.

Did anyone miss Muggle London like I did? 🙃

This series as a part of "Infraction" has grown incredibly. It helped me understand a lot about things I want to write and made me think about "Infraction" as... well, my first real baby, lol. I wrote one Snarry, "Oblivion" already, but I take that story as testing the waters. I tried to know Harry and Severus, placing them in situation close to, eh, something that happened to me in a way. It means a lot to me and I'm proud of myself that I managed to write a fic from the start to the end.

"Infraction" on the other hand... this one is going to be really FAT piece of work and I'm excited over the moon about it. First chapter and the first part of second already landed on Ao3, but when am I going to finish the next part of it? (If anyone is interested at all, because I personally don't touch unfinished pieces, knowing how it works 🤣)

Well, to be honest, I decided to not rush it. Not because I don't know what to write. The main outline of the story has 40k+ words. It appeared that planning a series of murders is not so easy 😂 especially when the politics are part of it (I mean, Merlin... that's the last thing I thought I will EVER write, lol) and on top of that I have some complicated relationships (or, I suppose, a cherry on molten chocolate cake 🤤). Which makes me shiver and scream, that much I want to jump into writing it again. But the more I am thinking about the plot and fitting everything I need into it (of course writing it down), the more I'm surprised that I am able to figure out something that seems damn complex to me and my three brain cells 😂 I want to be proud of this story. I want it to be... maybe not perfect, but as good as I can see, it can be. And I enjoy the idea of growing as hobby writer. It makes me really happy. Also it's my first serious CRIME story. I know I said before that I always wanted to write crime. I always thought though it's out of my range, you know, I'm too dumb to bring something interesting that other people could possibly like as I do. But with this story I'm trying new things (like bringing Marauders to life), I'm thinking in advance, I'm on both sides: the detective and the serial killer and... GOSH. I really think it will have sense and be worth to waste some time on reading it, lol!

Also there is Snarry AUctoberfest on the way and, you know, I decided I'll try to write something for the fest for the first time! (It's my year of many first times and I really like it!) Funny thing, it appears that my fic for the fest will be a little test to what I want to do with "Infraction." When it occured to me (don't ask how it happen, but the idea I've had in mind turned 180 degree and I couldn't help it! Had to just go for it 😂) I was stunned. But in the same way it's a great opportunity to try new things, see how it will go and how it will work before I'll jump back to my baby.

If anyone checked "Infraction", please don't be mad or sad or... disappointed or angry (?), that I'm not updating it yet. This fic is absolutely my main focus and I'm tinkering and working on it. As for everything, I need time (and probably cut some other projects while I will write it; so less drawing going to be main part of the writing process 🙃 I suppose in the last quarter of the year; except if I'll have my holiday from work!)

Ah, dang. I wrote a lot here, I suppose? Less shite than messy personal stuff, but still something I guess, I wanted to share? Even if I think it's pointless and worthless, because who cares, lol. I'm learning, trying to share, I think. I should, as I wasn't doing it at all and it suppose to help me to... leave the shell of person that other people think I am. Because I grew to be someone irl that I'm really tired of being. Of pretending to be. How stupid it all sounds it's beyond me and I still deny to admit it.

[cuffmeinblack]

Friendly competition

Garreth Weasley x Sebastian Sallow x Leander Prewett

Tags: explicit | smut | threesome | brat!Subastian | anal sex | analingus | blowjobs | handjobs | anal creampie | marking | overstimulation

5k words

Accompanying audio | ao3 link

A/n: This started with a dumb idea and badly edited picture, then @xantineverdoer ruined my life by sliding smut into my ask box and I produced whatever the fuck this is. Thank you for the coin flip idea. Also tied this into this week's Weasley Wednesday prompt: Quidditch!

Garreth was used to Sebastian's smug attitude, particularly in the case of friendly (or not) competition. The Slytherin had always been cocky, self-satisfied, insufferable in some regards, but he usually had a reason to be. Talented in more ways than one, Sebastian's confidence also extended to the bedroom—something Garreth had found out the previous year after far too much firewhiskey and a particularly ferocious Quidditch match. 

He'd been sick to death of the brunet's endless gloating and intoxicated flirting, pinning him to the stands and finding out that Sebastian was quite the vocal partner as he whined underneath Garreth's touch with little care for who might hear. Garreth hadn't expected him to be so submissive; though he fought back endlessly and riled Garreth up to no end, in the end he always found himself obeying once Garreth's cock was buried in the boy's arse. Fucking Sebastian Sallow had become a favourite pastime, and the Slytherin appeared to be utterly insatiable in that regard.

Usually after a particularly fraught training session, Garreth would unwind by paying Sebastian a visit, until he found that the Slytherin had started waiting in the stands, watching him fly. There was nothing like aggressively hitting a bludger around to get the blood pumping and adrenaline rushing, except fucking Sebastian afterwards. Garreth started appearing as the Slytherin team trained, drawing curious glances from the green-clad students around him and a knowing smirk from the chestnut-haired boy flying around the pitch. Sebastian was a beater too, and the sight of him swinging his bat around never failed to get Garreth in the mood—he was pretty sure Sebastian added the loud grunts and ruffling of his hair for Garreth's benefit.

What he hadn't expected to see that particular Sunday morning as he settled into the hard wooden bench, was Leander Prewett approaching with a confused expression.

"Alright, Leander? What brings you here?"

"Just fancied watching a bit of Quidditch," he replied with a shrug.

"They're doing drills," Garreth said, quirking an eyebrow.

"Right. Er, why are you here?"

"Scoping out the competition."

Leander grunted, returning his attention to the Slytherin team now mounting their brooms. Garreth knew he was lying, but didn't understand why until he started to follow his gaze. He was watching the same person Garreth had his eyes fixed upon; the fluffy-haired brunet currently pelting bludgers across the pitch to his teammate. It wasn't merely a quick glance, but an intense stare at the boy that was obvious to anyone who was paying even the slightest bit of attention.

"Why are you watching Sallow?"

"What is this, twenty questions?" Leander huffed, turning a gentle shade of pink across his freckled cheeks.

"Do you fancy him?"

"What? No!"

"Seems like you do," Garreth teased.

Leander turned to Garreth, shuffling along the bench towards him and lowering his voice.

"Don't you dare say anything. I mean it, Garreth."

"Merlin's beard, you do!"

"We've been…fooling around with each other for a while."

Garreth's stomach dropped and mouth hung open stupidly at his admission, whilst his friend looked at him uncomfortably, obviously disappointed by his reaction.

"You and…Sallow?"

"Yeah, is that a problem?" Leander replied, defensiveness flaring.

"Well..."

"Never thought you were the bigoted type, Garreth…"

"Gods, shutup, will you? I…I'm shocked because I've been…fooling around with him, too."

"What?!"

Leander's exclamation drew the attention of several of the spectators surrounding them, their patience for the Gryffindor interlopers clearly wearing thin. Garreth shushed his friend quietly, casting a furtive glance around before landing on Sebastian. Far from being concentrated on his practice, he was watching Garreth (or were his eyes fixed on Leander?) with an amused smile whilst his teammate shouted at him from across the pitch to pay attention.

"That little brat," Leander muttered.

The idea that Sebastian was sleeping around shouldn't have shocked Garreth, but it did bother him slightly. The way the Slytherin flirted incessantly, he was bound to have used it on other unsuspecting victims in order to get his dick wet, but never in a hundred years would Garreth had guessed his best friend would be swayed by him. Of course, Sebastian was gorgeous, physically fit, and had the most perfect little arse, but Leander hated the boy. Perhaps that rippling tension and unresolved hatred was what had drawn them together in the first place.

"I think we should have a talk with him after this…," Garreth sighed.

"I think you're right."

The rest of the training session passed slowly, with Garreth trying his hardest to avoid looking at Sebastian at all, or Leander for that matter. He found himself watching Imelda and wondering if Gryffindor stood a chance against such a strong team, when a whistle blew and snapped him out of his reverie. As the Slytherins landed and filed off of the pitch with backs slapped and smiles exchanged, Garreth and Leander stood simultaneously to walk down the flights of stairs to the grassy grounds below.

They stood in awkward silence as they waited outside of the changing rooms, waiting and waiting until finally, Sebastian sauntered out. Garreth tried to remain impassive as he approached, ignoring how his damp hair from the shower fell over his freckled face, water droplets dripping down his neck and pooling above his collarbone. His mouth was suddenly dry.

"Lads," he said by way of greeting. "Come to watch me play?"

"We had an interesting conversation whilst we were," Leander said calmly.

"Oh? Do tell."

"You've been having sex with both of us?" Garreth asked, trying to keep the jealousy out of his voice.

Sebastian merely shrugged, bored with the conversation already. Garreth flushed pink, irritation building at his nonchalance. Certainly they weren't anything more than sexual partners, but he'd thought he was his only partner. Perhaps the assumption had been foolish, but the jealousy that rippled through him was very real.

"If you're going to be such a little slut, Sallow…how about you try us both at the same time?" Leander asked.

Sebastian blinked and looked at Leander before breaking into a smirk as Garreth gawped at his friend.

"Hah, likely story. I can't imagine you two daring to have your cocks out in front of each other. You'd spend the entire time bickering over who's bigger."

Refusing to take the bait (because surely he was bigger than Leander, right?), Garreth smiled cheerfully at Sebastian and nodded.

"I think that's a great idea. Tell you what, if Slytherin win the next match, you can have us both," Garreth agreed, catching Leander's surprised glance in his direction.

"And if Gryffindor win, by some miracle?" Sebastian drawled.

"You have to choose between us, for good."

Sebastian narrowed his dark eyes, gaze flicking between the two as he considered the bet. Garreth was faintly worried he'd decide not to choose him, though he didn't particularly like the idea of sharing Sebastian in either scenario either.

"Fine. You'd better decide who gets to go first," he smirked, hauling his bat over his shoulder and giving Garreth a wink.

The wink sent a surge of desire through Garreth's body, culminating in a rush of blood straight to his cock, which twitched eagerly in his trousers. Damn him. He watched Sebastian walk away with his usual swagger, casting a look back at them with another wide grin, knowing they were both ogling the view of his slightly-too-tight breeches.

"Fucking Sallow," Leander muttered.

-

Sebastian found Garreth a few days before their match after the Gryffindor team had been put through their paces, leaving him exhausted and in no mood for the Slytherin's antics. Of course, his lethargy didn't last long in the face of Sebastian's wandering hands and exasperating taunting. Sebastian had only just finished telling him that he'd be choosing Leander if he couldn't keep up with his energy when his words were replaced by whimpers that filled the space underneath the Quidditch stands. 

He still found ways of winding Garreth up whilst his cock was buried deep inside his arse, but that was part of the fun of their rendezvous. He pushed Garreth's buttons until he snapped, forcing him to reduce Sebastian to a whining mess who could barely answer his name. The way the cocky Slytherin eventually folded to Garreth's commands was so deeply satisfying, the way those smirking lips parted for Garreth's tongue and moaned his name as he rode him was exhilarating. 

Until a couple of days ago, nobody else in the world knew of their little arrangement, and Garreth was still miffed that he apparently wasn't the only one able to tame Sebastian Sallow. The thought of having his best friend join him was strange but intriguing. Garreth couldn't help but wonder what Sebastian would be like with not one, but two boys pleasuring him—what would become of those soft little whines and begging eyes? Sebastian had left him that day with a nip at his ear as Garreth squeezed his bottom, already missing his warmth.

By the time the anticipated match rolled around, tensions were high in more ways than one. Garreth had been growing more and more frustrated by the day as the stress of the match only increased his need for an outlet. All the furious pumping of his hand in the world couldn't compare to Sebastian's supple body, and the fantasies were no longer cutting it to relieve his frustration.

With a sigh, Garreth started pulling on his kit and gathering his gloves and bat into his bag. Leander appeared at his side as he finished changing, shoving his hands into his pockets with a feigned attempt at nonchalance.

"If they win…," he muttered, looking around the dormitory to check nobody was listening, "we agree not to go easy on him?"

"Goes without saying."

"You okay with this?" Leander asked.

"If they win, yes. Should be…fun to teach him a lesson," Garreth said, barely suppressing a smile.

Leander chuckled and slapped him on the back, sending a ripple through his body. Gods, he hadn't considered actually being naked with Leander as part of the deal. He'd thought about it, but what would it really be like to touch his best friend's bare skin, to see his uncovered frame and watch him fuck the boy he'd been sleeping with for months? If he were truthful, the images he conjured of Sebastian being violated by both of them set his pulse racing and blood rushing straight to where was entirely inappropriate at that moment.

Garreth shoved the thoughts to the back of his mind as he steeled himself, giving Leander a final nod before leaving the room with his belongings. The walk down to the stands flew by and as he tore himself away from his distractions, he was clutching his broom and bat and readying himself to walk out onto the pitch in front of hundreds of people. The roar from the crowd was almost overwhelming, and the rest of his team looked terrified.

Once out onto the lush grass, Garreth mounted his broom as the captains met in the middle of the pitch to shake hands under the glare of Madam Kogawa. His eyes drifted over the swathes of supporters and then down to the Slytherin team gathered opposite. Sebastian was already hovering a few inches above the ground, twirling his bat in his hand and staring at Garreth. A knot twisted in his stomach as he watched his dark eyes and dipped head, perhaps indicative of intimidation to anyone watching, but clearly meant to entice Garreth. He knew then that Sebastian needed that smirk wiped off his face once and for all. Slytherin needed to win.

By all accounts, Slytherin should have secured an easy victory, but by some cruel twist of fate, the one time Garreth wanted his team to lose, they were playing absolutely fantastically. The match was fast, furious and the lead razor thin by an hour in, with Gryffindor ten points up and Garreth growing increasingly frustrated. He’d been thinking about a particularly heated evening spent in the boathouse with Sebastian a few weeks ago, when his peripheral vision caught a brown blur heading towards him and he collided his bat with the bludger just in time, hitting it halfway down the pitch.

“Careful, Weasley. I wouldn’t want you to mess up that pretty face.”

Garreth turned to see Sebastian fly past with a devilish grin aimed his way before shooting off after the offending bludger. Annoyed that the comment had made him flustered, Garreth flew in the opposite direction, hunting down the other ball. He spotted it not too far away, hurtling towards his teammate who was hovering near the goalposts. With a muttered expletive, he was on its tail as the crowds roared around him and the commentator appeared to be going wild—someone was after the snitch. Garreth tuned his hearing into the amplified voice and listened, his head whipping around to see the Gryffindor seeker chasing down the tiny gold ball with his counterpart still seconds behind.

Shit. Gryffindor were going to win. 

Garreth had merely half a second of blind panic, his selfish desires overtaking all rational thought as he aimed the bludger and pelted it towards his teammate. His eyes bulged as he realised what he’d done, hoping to Merlin nobody had noticed his deliberate aim. The ball missed by a margin, but distracted the seeker long enough to veer him off course and allow his Slytherin counterpart to catch up. 

The rest was history. In a blur of green, the pitch was swarmed with supporters for the winning team as Garreth and the rest of his team were left dumbfounded. There’d be time to contemplate what the hell he’d done later, as well as wallow in guilt, but for now, Garreth was keen to get out of the crowds—he had a bet to collect on.

-

Garreth took his time in the shower, cleaning everywhere and waiting for the last of his team to file out, trudging back to Gryffindor tower to wallow in defeat. He was squeaky and smelled of pine by the time he crossed the stands into the opposing team's changing rooms, finding them empty except for Sebastian leaning casually against the wall. His eyes flicked over Garreth as he walked in, a look of smug satisfaction across his face.

"Congratulations," Garreth said with a smile.

"Did you purposely attack your own teammate just so you can both fuck me, Weasley?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

His own gaze ran over the boy in front of him, still wet from the shower, flushed and enticing. Garreth was practically salivating at the thought of getting his hands on him as he strode towards him with a predatory glare. Before be could pounce, he was interrupted by Leander's entrance. The three of them stood in the changing room, looking at each other and waiting for someone to initiate. 

"So, who's going first?" Garreth asked his friend.

Leander hummed before he rifled through his pockets, producing a silver sickle.

"Heads, I go first?"

Garreth nodded as Sebastian just watched the exchange.

"Tails."

"Thank fuck for that," Garreth sighed, barely able to contain his pent up frustration. 

"Come here, princess," Leander grinned, holding out a hand to the brunet.

"Fuck off," Sebastian spat back, but he did as he was told, walking into Leander's open arms.

Garreth found himself watching, fascinated but utterly fucking furious at the display, as Sebastian pulled the taller boy by the tie and swiped his tongue over Leander's lips, all whilst keeping his dark brown eyes trained on Garreth. He closed the distance in a flash, snaking his hands around Sebastian's waist and pressing himself against his back, the moan that left the Slytherin's lips captured by Leander's mouth. 

Garreth dipped his head, lips finding the still damp skin at Sebastian's neck as he slid his hands to his waistband, following the thick hair that trailed his chest and abdomen. Licking and nipping at the sensitive spot behind his ear that Garreth knew all too well, Sebastian arched his back, pressing his behind into Garreth's waiting crotch. His erection was already growing steadily and Sebastian was more than eager to tease it with a rhythmic rocking of his hips.

"Like that, Weasley?" 

"I'll like it even better when it's buried in your tight little arse," Garreth whispered into his ear.

Sebastian whined and shuddered at the tease as Leander grew impatient with the distraction, swatting Garreth's hands out of the way to grope hungrily at the bulge in Sebastian's trousers. 

"You're absolutely rock hard, Sallow," Leander chuckled. "We've barely started."

Sebastian glared but didn't reply, continuing to rock his hips into Leander's hand until he unbuttoned Sebastian's trousers. The boy groaned as his stiff cock was released from the fabric into Leander's waiting hand, his other pulling Sebastian's face back towards him to claim his mouth in another hungry kiss. Running his fingers through that soft chestnut hair, Garreth resumed his attention on Sebastian's neck, biting harder with every push of his soft backside against his erection, sucking the skin with increased vigour at every muffled moan.

Sebastian's soft whines and wet slapping of his cock being tugged were delicious, Garreth's own hard length now throbbing for more attention than the restricted friction could provide. He reached down to release himself, roughly pushing down Sebastian's trousers and giving his arse a hard squeeze before his dripping cock pressed against those peachy cheeks. 

Sebastian was writhing between the two friends; breath heavy, skin flushed and hands grabbing at Leander's hair, making a mess of his coiffed 'do. Garreth couldn't help the groan that clawed its way out of his throat as he held Sebastian's hips still to grind against his arse. He felt good, so good, but sounded even better. The way his composure broke down so quickly was intoxicating and Garreth longed for more of those wavering breaths and pathetic mewls…but they had an agreement.

"Remember we said I'd have him first," Garreth warned, eyes flicking to Leander over the brunet's shoulder.

"Oh you can fuck him, but we didn't specify who'd make him come first."

Garreth frowned at the technicality, but his head dizzied with possibilities of what they could do to the increasingly limp Slytherin between them.

"Would you like that? Think you can handle me pounding that tight little arse-" Garreth teased, pressing himself hard into Sebastian's behind, "-after you've spilled all over yourself?"

Sebastian responded with a desperate whine, his head lolling back onto Garreth's shoulder. He really was so beautiful when he was in the midst of pleasure, when the only sounds leaving his mouth were sinful moans rather than sarcastic jibes.

"He's absolutely fucking gone already," Leander chuckled, slowing and eventually removing the hand wrapped around Sebastian's cock.

Sebastian tried to protest but was met with another searing kiss by the towering redhead. They were so close, Garreth could smell his friend’s cologne mingling with their combined arousal and the musky scent of sweat from his lover. Garreth hummed against Sebastian's neck, running his tongue over the blotchy red mark blooming on his skin as the two boys exchanged soft moans. Garreth was about ready to start marking an enticing spot on Sebastian’s shoulder before Leander pulled out of the kiss with a glint in his eye of undisguised lust.

"On your knees.”

Sebastian panted, taking a few seconds to find his voice and realise what he’d been told to do.

"Absolutely no way, I'm not getting on that filthy tile," he spat back.

"I suppose you don't want my cock inside you, then?” Garreth remarked from behind him, taking his length in his hand and guiding himself between Sebastian’s cheeks. “Shame."

The Slytherin gave a tiny shudder of arousal, putting up only a small protest when Leander sat on the bench behind him, pushing Sebastian to the floor by his shoulder. Garreth watched him kneeling between Leander’s legs on the hard floor, completely bare and cock weeping as his face was guided towards the redhead’s waiting member. 

The view was utterly obscene—Garreth was so entranced he barely noticed that he was lazily stroking himself as he watched Sebastian sucking his friend’s cock. He was so eager. Who knew anyone could make that much noise whilst their mouth was so stuffed full? Delicious moans, groans and gasps escaped his throat, muffled but still loud enough to fill the room and echo off the tiled walls. Leander’s eyes were fixed downward as his hand gripped the chestnut hair in front of him, completely absorbed in Sebastian’s performance.

"Fuck. Arse up, Sallow.”

Sebastian tried to smirk around the cock in his mouth; not entirely successfully but Garreth got the idea. Kneeling down behind him, Garreth lifted his behind off of his feet, pushing the boy forward as he stumbled and gripped Leander’s thighs for support. The muffled complaint was cut short when Sebastian’s cheeks were parted and Garreth’s tongue swiped over his entrance. Fuck, this was uncomfortable, but needs must.

Garreth closed his eyes and allowed himself to be completely absorbed in Sebastian’s dulled moans and the wet slurping from his mouth. Every flick of Garreth’s tongue made him gasp and keen, much to the frustration of Leander who growled his frustration as Garreth tried to suppress a grin. The Slytherin particularly liked it when Garreth circled his hole before plunging the tip of his tongue inside, the pitch of his whines increasing a whole octave each time he did.

The dull throb of Garreth’s cock grew in intensity with every salacious noise from Sebastian until he couldn’t handle anymore waiting. He was crazed with desire, the pain in his knees nothing compared to the head-spinning arousal that threatened to overwhelm him. A final, firm swipe of his tongue and he retreated, groping in his pocket for his wand with shaking hands and muttering the charm to coat his fingers in a slippery liquid.

“N-not yet. I still want to make this one come,” Leander said, still tugging on Sebastian’s hair as the brunet’s head bobbed up and down.

Garreth swore from frustration, reaching around to spread the lubricant on Sebastian's stiff and twitching cock as Leander pushed him off his lap with a pop and a groan and into Garreth's waiting lap. He was already so pliant, limp and writhing on top of Garreth as he stroked the brunet's girthy length—his bare arse rubbed Garreth's painfully neglected erection with every tug of his hand and their combined loud moans reverberated off the walls and filled his ears.

"Are you going to come all over yourself?" Leander asked through the noise, his hands gripping the twitching boy's thighs and fondling his tight balls.

"Y-yeah…"

The snarky façade was crumbling, revealing Sebastian's pure desperation to be toyed with. He was close, the noises he made bordering on hysterical as his hands made a pathetic attempt at controlling Leander's head. Garreth watched over a freckled shoulder, the ginger head dipped against Sebastian's muscular thighs now peppered with teeth marks and blooming red marks across the tender skin. 

"Fucking…faster…"

"Say please," Garreth responded to the whiny demand.

"Please."

Garreth picked up the pace, only a few strokes needed to send Sebastian over the edge with a shuddering moan, spilling his load all over his stomach and Garreth's hand. Garreth muttered praises in Sebastian's ear as he rode out his orgasm, the last dribble of cum barely leaving the boy's cock before Garreth pulled his hand away—he was so fucking ready he could barely think.

"Gods, you're a fucking mess, Sallow," Leander's far away voice said.

Sebastian was already off of his lap, Garreth getting shakily to his feet and wincing at the pain from the hard floor. Undeterred, he gave Leander a sharp look before speaking.

"Help me get him up, I'll probably need you to take his weight."

Garreth had no intention of fucking him on the tiled floor. Sebastian was already getting to his feet, his dark eyes boring into Garreth's skull as he drank him in, diverted as soon as Leander parted his swollen lips with his tongue. Sebastian was but an inch shorter than Garreth, strong and well-built but he looked positively tiny next to Leander, who towered over the both of them with his lean muscular form. He'd have time to wonder why the sight was so riveting later; for now, Garreth's fingers were busy stretching that tight little hole he craved so much.

He'd been right that he'd need Leander's help. As soon as he'd started stroking and circling the soft pad inside Sebastian, the boy was a mess. His legs shook and desperate mewls left his mouth, falling against Leander's plush lips that were turned up in an amused smile. Garreth was three fingers in, Sebastian's entrance stretched so well for him, relaxed and ready.

"Think you can handle all of me?" Garreth asked, already withdrawing his fingers.

"Shutup and fuck me."

Apparently he still had a fucking mouth on him. Any intention of going slowly died with Sebastian's taunt as Garreth lined up his swollen, dripping head with his entrance and pushed inside. The smirking Slytherin collapsed into Leander's chest as Garreth stretched him steadily, until his groin was flush with the soft flesh of Sebastian's behind.

"Come on princess, this is what you wanted wasn't it?" 

Leander was busy whispering against Sebastian's parted lips as Garreth looped his arms around Sebastian's, pulling them behind him and linking his hands. Sebastian's back arched into the hold, groaning as he was manhandled just the way he liked. 

Sweet relief and absolute ecstasy flooded Garreth's body the moment he started to rock his hips, his eyes diverting downward to watch his cock impaling his lover's arse between those soft cheeks. He'd have time later to grab the flesh and mark him up prettily, but all that Garreth wanted, and could manage to do, was grind against them with increasing vigour. He felt incredible—tight, warm and wet, his walls enveloping Garreth's cock so perfectly and teasing every last drop of frustration out of him.

"So…fucking good…," Garreth gasped.

Sebastian merely whined in response, his flushed face pressed against Leander's shoulder and eyes rolling back into his head. The taller boy stroked his freckled cheek and teased his lips with a thumb, all whilst he laziky stroked his own cock, waiting for his turn. 

"What's my name?" Leander asked the Slytherin.

"Uh- fucking…Prewett…"

"Fuck him harder, he's still lucid," Leander chuckled, his brown eyes meeting Garreth's and sending an unexpected shiver of arousal up his spine.

Garreth growled with lustful want, tightening the hold on Sebastian's arms and angling him down, his back arching as Garreth picked up the pace. Their combined moans were deafening and as Garreth spotted a stray tear rolling down Sebastian's cheek, he lost it. He couldn't have stopped if he'd tried, his orgasm coming so suddenly he barely had time to pull out of Sebastian before his ropes of cum spilled all over the heated skin of his back. Garreth threw his head back, gasping for breath as the waves of pleasure ripped through him, cock pulsing against the brunet's soft cheeks as the last of his release dribbled from the tip.

"You're mine, Sallow."

The command was met with a tug from Leander, breaking Sebastian free from his loosened grip around his arms as he was guided backwards to the bench. Leander sat down, spinning Sebastian around to ogle the view, planting kisses on his lower back as his fingers teased his opening.

"You want more?"

"Y-yeah…"

Leander pulled the brunet down into his lap, his cock sliding into his already stretched hole with ease. Garreth made his way to the pair in a trance, running his fingers through the soft chestnut locks as he tilted his head instinctively up to him. Finally, Garreth kissed him, those sweet lips tasting of sweat, a hint of Leander but still overwhelmingly Sebastian. He gripped him tightly as Leander started to thrust up into him, the Slytherin too fucked to be able to do much himself except moan into Garreth's mouth. 

Garreth steadied himself with a knee on the bench, his strong arms wrapped around Sebastian's back as he shuddered through the pounding from below. The sounds he made were so sinful; whines, gasps, expletives; an incoherent string of noise against Garreth's lips that sounded like the sweetest music, so satisfying to hear. 

"Are you going to come again?" Garreth whispered.

"Uh- uhhuh…"

"Fucking hell…," Leander muttered, approaching his peak.

Garreth wiped another tear from Sebastian's eye as he kissed him again before telling him what he wanted to hear.

"Good boy."

Sebastian fell apart, pulling Leander right along with him over the edge. They collapsed backwards onto the hard wooden bench, wrenching Sebastian away from Garreth's grip as Leander continued his rhythmic pounding with the boy on top of him, writhing and overwhelmed. Sebastian gripped the wood, arms, legs, anything he could reach as his body convulsed and all Garreth could do was watch and paw at the brunet's thighs as they came down off their highs, completely awestruck.

"Fuck…s-stop…," Sebastian managed to eek out, squirming in Leander's tight grip.

Leander gave him a final thrust before pulling out, cum spilling on his legs and splattering on the floor. Sebastian could hardly move, but managed to lift himself off of Leander and into Garreth's waiting arms, head lolling onto his shoulder. He'd realise in a minute what he was doing, and the cocky brat would return, but for now Garreth enjoyed the exhausted and thoroughly ruined boy bundled in his arms.

"Slytherin might have won the match but I think I'm going to claim a Gryffindor victory," Garreth sighed, stroking Sebastian's hair.

Leander laughed and held his hand up for a high-five, the ridiculous gesture only making Garreth's grin wider.

"Thank fuck he's finally stopped talking."

[gd-dollopole]

I just thought about Arthur, Gwen, Morgana and Merlin going to fight, but dressing good for it (each one of them with their assigned weapon)

This could be set in whatever AU/Canon AU you’d like, where everything is good and these four fight together to unite the lands of Albion (basically my happy version of BBC Merlin).

See my vision.

They all wear long cloaks, with hoods that cover their faces and hair, including the clothes they wear under. The sleeves of their tunics are long, sort of under shirts made of linen, comfortable and flexible, no armour, to be worn under the cloaks, cut open at different points based on the weapons they use. Magic half protects them from the cold and the blows they take, blanketing them and securing them from their enemies. Their boots stretch until the knee and are striped, the trousers large and comfortable.

Each one of them has a colour assigned:

Morgana: white. It accentuates her dark hair, her appearance, that could seem innocent, but is actually fatal; three golden straight stripes descend over the front length of her cloak; the sleeves are round and half cut at the wrists; her boots are black; she wears a belt under the cloak where she can hide her weapon and pick it up easily; her gloves are black like her boots, wrist length, made of leather, simple; she still wears jewellery and a chain of metal around her forehead, with a white pearl in the middle of it, her black hair wavy and falling around and behind her shoulders, when she has council meetings, and tied up and in a braid when she needs to fight; she wears rings and bracelets. They decorate her fingers and wrists, two golden bracelet over her biceps, a long pendant made of a chain around her neck, that ends with a tiny, transparent vial where she keeps her favourite dried flower, round, five petals and of the same white colour of her cloak, the gift made to her by Gwen (I believe the flower is called, Oxalis incarnata).

Gwen: dark violet/light violet/pastel pink. I believe they’re her colours. Gwen is kind, and honest. Everything that she has ever made for herself and wore accentuated her character and personality as well, and the colour took a big part in it. It’s soft, and it resembles everything Gwen has ever been. Fierce, but vulnerable. A good leader. She has always ever been these two colours, and she wore purple the day she was crowned queen. Her cloak has drawings that she herself sewed into the fabric, of flowers and flying birds, intersecting one with the other, of a a white colour and with golden stripes painted on their wings and branches, resembling the one on Morgana’s cloak; her cloak and tunics are of a similar cut to the others, except that the sleeves are shorter and the leather gloves are longer, reaching her elbows, comfortable for her weapon, and of a deep brown colour, the same of her boots; her weapon is wrapped around her chest and draped behind her shoulders; she wears no jewellery; she keeps her hair short and curly, tied in a small bun behind the nape of her neck, two small strands cascading over her forehead.

Merlin: dark blue/light blue. These colours are his. A symbol, the same as his eyes, since he has always wore them as a shirt, that matches the colours of the tunic and the cloak over his body, cut at the shoulders, his shirt unlaced at the chest and ending on both arms with a bishop sleeve; his gloves are gauntlets and made of leather, the same colour of his boots, blue, but a lighter/darker tone than the one of his own cloak; his raven hair is longer, wavy, and ends at the juncture of his neck, untied; he wears a beard long enough to cover chin and cheeks; he needs space and air to use his weapon, long and sometimes difficult to manoeuvre, so his cloak is cut from the start of his thighs to his ankles; the fabric also has a golden circle sewed on the chest and the middle area, a line travelling and curving around its circumference.

Arthur: red, or what us fans usually describe as Camelot red. It suits him and it accentuates his hair. He has the golden Camelot dragon sewed at the centre of his cloak, a size big enough to be able to fit inside Merlin’s circle; he’s covered completely, has two holes just for his forearms, and a brown belt for his weapon over the cloak; his gloves are also gauntlets and of a golden colour; his boots are brown just like Gwen’s, meaning two things: Arthur belongs both to the Once and Future Queen of Camelot, and to his Court Sorcerer.

~

Their weapons:

Morgana: magic and knives. She has always loved them, always used them, and they’re easy to fight with, quick, the magic assuring her the perfect balance the moment she loses it, aiming a blow in the rare case she misses. She likes them, and they remind her of the gift Arthur had made to her during her birthday. The knives are decorated with pearls too, and they shine altogether whenever Gwen picks them up (Gwen creates the knives Morgana fights with without telling her).

Gwen: bow. She is agile, short, and quick. She has always run left and right to assist everyone in need, bringing and handling stuff in her hands, so she can manage a bow perfectly, shooting and fighting from afar. Arthur thought her how to use it, or maybe she learnt it by herself (or with Morgana). She makes her own arrows, that change based on what she needs to do or on her target. The bow has deep carvings in it on both the upper and lower limb, and the initials of her name. She made them herself, similar to the one on her clothes. The string of the bow can be heard only by Morgana every time Gwen shoots (Morgana secretly carved her initials too on the face of the bow, thinking Gwen hasn’t noticed).

Merlin: magic and a staff. His powers makes it float and appear on command, it channels his magic better, which could be destructive if managed alone. It glows and vibrates whenever Arthur passes by (Merlin blushes every time it happens).

Arthur: Excalibur. It represents the Kingdom, it’s the sword of the Once and Future King. It has the desired balance, has just the right hint of magic in it and the writing on the blade pulses a golden colour every time the weapon is in near proximity with Merlin. The sword reminds Arthur of him, and it’s never out of his sight (Arthur denies it each time his sword brightens up, cursing Merlin as he does so).

[taliesin-the-bored]

"What's the deal with Taliesin?"

A somewhat lengthy ramble about the most powerful (or most arrogant) character in Arthurian legend

One the one hand, his powers exceed Merlin’s—Merlin describes himself as “second only to Taliesin” (in “Ymddiddan Myrtin a Talyessin”), and Taliesin claims to have profound knowledge of the cosmos dating back to Creation (he says poetic inspiration was created at the same time as fresh milk, dew, and acorns). He knows everything and can shapeshift into pretty much anything, if the catalogues he gives are anything to go by. He survived being swallowed alive, being thrown in the sea ("Ystoria Taliesin"), and (it seems) going on a raid of the Otherworld during which all but seven of Arthur’s many warriors died ("Preiddeu Annwn"). Then or at some other point while he was in Annwn, he pierced 8,000 men with spears he got from Heaven ("Cad Goddeu"). That puts his casualty count above that of anyone else I can think of in Arthurian legend (They fall "by the hundred" to Bedwyr--"Pa Gur"--but by "forty score hundred" to Taliesin). For all we know, he's indestructible; from what he claims, he's omniscient.

On the other hand, he sometimes seems like Sir Kay Xtreme Bard Edition with Extra Arrogance. In The Book of Taliesin, he has a really bitter (one-sided?) feud with other scholars and monks (some variant on "pathetic men of letters” appears many a time), who he accuses of ignorance because they don’t know the answers to various questions he never gives the answers to himself, and he loses or alienates everyone until the only person who visits him is a dude named “Goronwy, from the dales of Edrywy” ("Cad Goddeu"). Not much is known about this Goronwy, though it’s been speculated that he’s the speaker in “Claf Abercuawg”, in which case he’s an ailing societal outcast and probably couldn’t get anyone to talk to him except Taliesin. There’s a strong pathos to this—time, and maybe hubris, came with a fall, leaving him somewhat like a washed-up starlet or a burned-out wunderkind, abandoned now that he’s no longer the shiny new thing.

On the third hand, which I don't have but Taliesin could probably manage if he felt like it, much of this is from his point of view, and we have no way to prove he's telling the truth. When he tells his own origin story, he claims that he was Frankensteined together by enchanters at the dawn of time. This flatly contradicts "Ystoria Taliesin", so either there are multiple canons for his life story, he's talking as the Awen rather than as himself (in which case he's still contradicting himself--he also says it's a creation of the Lord), or he's lying about some of it. Why he would want to is anyone's guess, since he is quite powerful regardless.

If we don't take Taliesin at his word about his ability to kaiju battle giant toad monsters ("Cad Goddeu"), or take it with a grain of salt, then what are his accomplishments apart from self-preservation and repaying a life debt to Elphin? I am by no means an expert on him, but in what I've read, he does almost nothing in anyone else's story. It's almost like, apart from one or two times, he isn't able to find a way to use his powers for anyone else's good.

Then again, what is his primary power? Shapeshifting seems obvious (too obvious). He uses it for self-preservation (which is valid), for the heck of it (maybe), and/or for really dubious ends (see "Angar Kyfundawt" if you really must know, but trust me, you don't want to). Fighting is a less talked about ability of his. He can cause a lot of destruction (according to himself). It's not really clear what he fights for, though the various legendary kings he hangs out with are probably implied. Then, there's...

...the Awen. Inspiration. Poetry. He can do poetry, and he can do it very well. That is what he boasts about the most, and his boasts seem pretty justified. He’s Taliesin Ben Beirdd, Taliesin “Chief of Bards”, not Taliesin “the Shapeshifter” or Taliesin “Best of Warriors”, even though he may be both of those things. Shapeshifting only benefits him, and he's seen the horrors of war more than most people: his close friend Merlin killed his own nephew in a battle. When Taliesin fights, he kills terrifying numbers of people, maybe without full control (whether he's fully cognizant while he's using his powers is an interesting question which I won't get into right now). Perhaps that's why he doesn't interfere with others' adventures much: he is too powerful to do less harm than good for the people around him and for the narrative tension. Or maybe he just doesn't feel like it, or he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or they just don't want him there anymore, or his role as a teller of stories is more important than his role as a person in them. 

[oneknightstand-if]

How would the in relationship Ro’s react to an MC getting very serious saying “If you end up being the traitor kill me before your reveal so I can die thinking we were real.”

One Knight Stand takes place over a two week timespan after which it climaxes/concludes with everyone's past incarnations getting revealed and the saboteur(s) being exposed.

Except for Adrian (who the MC has known for years in one fashion or another), they've only known these people for a couple of weeks. That's going a liiiittle too hard for most of them.

Merlin: Dear child, if I was the traitor you'd all already be dead.

Adrian: *is completely losing his $h!t over here at the implications... except for a_bond 4 = stalker Adrian who is just really, really confused right now*

Arthur: *is current Sir-Not-Appearing-In-This-Scenario since he's not playing Real Life Among Us with you... or is he?*

Percy: Indeed, he too wishes that he was a real boy and not a wooden puppet.

4̵0̶4̷ ̷E̸r̴r̵o̴r̸ ̷N̵o̴t̵ ̵F̵o̷u̷n̷d̸: Look, they are trying v̶̧̨̛̛̪͉̙̠̤̘̓͐̇͊̅͛̌̓͂͘͝͠ę̸̧̘̪͎̦͚̜̙̪̍̾͜ͅṛ̵̃͋y̴̢̛͇̥̝͔̒͒̇̍̓̈́̊̉̅ ̶̨̪̭̘̭̻̝̗̱̞̇̃͑̿͜ḫ̶̢̝͚͎̼̪̪͍͔͇͖͒̈́͑͜͝a̸̢̨̱̖̝͉̲̝̗̘̺̖͎̦͑̒͆̊̋̎̋͑̀̑̓͝͝͠r̴͇̼͉̰̳̺̘̺̫̱̟͍͍͕̎̍̊̇͒̐͐͐̈̅́͝ḑ̸̢̡̧̳̠̯̞̭͙̿͒̀͂́̿͋͝ to fulfill the "kill me" part of this request if you'd just stop running...

Cassandra: Gunning a bit hard there, are we?

Gwen: Oh! I understand you completely! It's so nice when people are completely in sync like this, right? And please, do the same for me!

Vivian: *is Lady-Not-Appearing-In-This-Scenario since she's not playing Real Life Among Us with you... or is she? Also, really, don't tempt her!*

Lorelei and Broderick:

[the-phoenix-heart]

Rise of Red Rewrite

Have I watched any of the other Descendants movies? No. Do I plan to? No. But Rise of Red took over my Shorts and people I follow got me intrigued so I watched it. And I hated it. There were parts I liked, but for the most part is was ridiculous and dumb in a semi enjoyable way, but the longer it went the worse it got. The ending was the worst because it went out on such a whimper, so I wrote how I would have written the movie, and I even kept most of the first third. Be warned I wrote this in like two hours after I finished the movie and it is very stream of consciousness.

We can keep pretty much everything up until they time travel. Except for Bridget and Ella’s interactions. They need to be WAY more bitter

When they travel into the past they do have their little fight over the watch and they run into merlin and pretend to be transfer students. We can even keep their interactions in the classroom with their moms and the lead in to “Life is Sweeter”

But we need to establish that Bridget isn’t liked by people because she’s from Wonderland. She needs to act a bit more “mad” (make her very particular about how things should be and have her be loud and not understand social norms [oh no that’s just autism]). Also show that Charming and some of his friends think she’s weird and kinda make fun of her for it (but they’re still more than happy to take her sweets)

We also establish this is why Ella doesn’t like Charming and other royals

After the flamingo scene we get Ella offering to go with Bridget (we might even watch her get rejected by some guys) and the girls deciding they need to talk to Ella about Uliana

Okay wow I’m realizing we’re keeping more in this movie than I intended. Anyway, everything from Ella breaking the vase to them discovering Uliana plans to turn her into a monster is kept in.

One thing we add is they can see some of the pages in the vision, one of which is a love potion cupcake. 

We then get them the next morning (and establish the drawers are magic and give them clothing to wear) finding out about the forbidden cookbook (mentioning it was forbidden because of the love potions) from Bridget, as well as Bridget crying because Ella has been grounded and can’t go to Crowncoming

Red is uncomfortable with her mother crying and has to leave. Before she leaves she sees a picture of Bridget with her mother, who Red has never seen before. Bridget’s mother looks incredibly foreboding

Chloe thinks Red is cruel for leaving and comforts Bridget. They get the idea to bake some things for Ella and her family to convince them to let Ella go

Before Chloe leaves with Bridget to make the cookies Red and Chloe have their fight about what’s the right thing to do, where Chloe calls Red just as bad as her future mom for wanting to steal, but Chloe is going to save the good Bridget all on her own, and maybe then Red will be a little nicer. She then leaves with Bridget to take the cookies

This goes bad, Ella’s Stepmother doesn’t take kindly to it and her stepsisters belittle Bridget and Chloe. Ella ends up yelling at them to go and there’s a heartbreaking breakup-esque ballad about kindness and being good doesn’t get you everything and Bridget leaves in tears. During this I also imagine Ella says something about never going to the dance and never loving Charming, which scares Ella

While Bridget is crying, thinking she has lost her only friend, who should appear but MORGIE (because he’s the only new character with no connection to anyone from the main series he has to earn his keep in this movie). He offers to go to the dance with Bridget and Bridget enthusiastically accepts. Of course this is a ploy by Uliana

Red has her little break in and when it seems to much for her Chloe swoops in to help her get the book. They do, but Chloe suddenly gets very cagey because she wants to open the book, meanwhile Red thinks that’s a stupid idea. They squabble over it, but Chloe finds she can’t open it. In the scuffle Red ends up opening it which hits Chloe like a ton of bricks that RED had good enough intentions that the book would open for her, but CHLOE did not

As they are staring at each other Uliana steals the open book out of Red’s hands and thanks them for getting it for her, her and her crew run off and Red and Chloe start to really fight with Chloe blaming Red and Red blaming Chloe. Merlin ends up walking in on them and CHloe ends up telling him the truth to prove that that should have always been what they did, that that was the good option. Merlin shocks her by saying he already knows

Well, he already knows they’re from the future. He tells them he won’t help them stop what’s supposed to happen. Not only because there are rules but also because he doesn’t want anything to happen to them. He even promises not to punish them, since they aren’t technically his students anyway. He tells them to go back to their time and figure out their own way to stop it in the present. Neither listen and run off

They both go to sleep tired and angry. Red wakes up the next day to find Chloe already gone. Red goes to try and find Bridget and warn her from taking anything from Uliana

She finds her getting ready for the dance and is shocked that she’s going with Morgie part of Uliana’s crew. They argue about it because Morgie is a VK and that Uliana is clearly planning something and for once Bridget gets actually angry comparing Red to her mom.

She says her own mom is always so paranoid and controlling telling her what to do and what not to do and she tries to understand it’s because she loves her, but it is so hard; when everyone hates her for being from Wonderland and everyone thinks she’s weird and Merlin Academy is the ONE place where she feels free to do what she wants and even then she is always giving away things for other people and letting them take from her and she just wants this one thing, is that so much to ask?! 

Red leaves in shock and decides she needs to make things right between Ella and Bridget, because that was something that they ended up taking away from her with their time travel shenanigans (and for Chloe as well)

Meanwhile Chloe has snuck back into the VK’s lair in the Black Lagoon to stop them from baking the monster cupcake. She tries to fight them one of five which goes…about as well as you could expect. All the VK’s get a chance to shine and Uliana is having her tentacles fight Chloe whilst she bakes.

Chloe tries to implore to Morgie to see this is wrong and Morgie looks a little shameful. Uliana tries to force feed her one of the monster cupcakes, but they realize that it’s time to get ready for Crowncoming so they let her go. Chloe is pissed, but determined to figure out a way on her own to defeat them. 

Meanwhile again, Red goes to Fay (Fairy Godmother) and asks her to help her get Ella to the ball. Fay tries to say she can’t, because her magic never works

Red says she thought about that, she pulls out a tray with misshapen red cupcakes on it. They’re supposed to help with bettering magic, but Red’s not a very good baker. She hopes it works because they’re made with love. Fay tries one and finds it actually very delicious, and wants to try. 

They go to Ella’s house and Ella asks if Red is here to ruin her life any further, but Red says the opposite and reveals Fay. Fay manages to make Ella a dress and carriage and promises she’ll be the fairest at the ball.

Red is happy for her and then Fay says Red will also be the fairest at the ball and gives her her own beautiful dress to wear (it probably has punk touches, but is altogether more traditionally feminine). They get in the carriage and ride off. 

Chloe is already there dressed in a prince outfit and watching over Bridget who is already there with Morgie. She ends up talking with her father at the dance and telling him off for thinking Bridget is weird and for thinking she is weird for dressing like a prince and having her sword on her. It’s a bit of a come to knowledge moment for her

Fay, Ella, and Red all show up together and as Chloe sees them and Charming she gets an idea. While she goes up on stage we see that Chloe is uncomfortable with the idea of seeing Bridget and Bridget herself looks uncomfortable.

When Chloe gets up on stage she commandeers the set and starts singing “So This is Love”. Charming hears this and decides to ask Ella to dance, who actually accepts

Bridget and Morgie also go off to dance, but Red walks up to the stage slowly while watching Chloe singing. She then comes up on the stage and turns it into a duet of “So This is Love” and “Life is Sweeter.” At the end of the song Red and Chloe hug and make up

Ella and Charming have their dance where they fall in love, but at the end Ella catches a glance of Bridget and turns to him, saying that she really likes him, but she’d prefer it if he apologized to Bridget for everything he’s said to her, which he agrees to do. 

Meanwhile Morgie stands up to Uliana and tells her he’s not going to let her poison Bridget, especially over something so petty, and he’s going to have a fun night with his date, which pisses Uliana off

Ella and Charming come over (Morgie probably gives them privacy) and they talk. Charming apologizes to bridget and Bridget is briefly catty about Ella saying she couldn’t/wouldn’t go, but then they both apologize to each other and make up. Ella even offers Bridget a cupcake off the table as thanks

Morgie, Red, and Chloe all see this and try to stop Bridget from eating it, but it’s too late and she begins to turn into a monster

Uliana comes over laughing and wraps her tentacles around Morgie and Ella and congratulates them on helping her with her prank

People start to scream/laugh and point at Bridget which causes her to freak out. Even though Morgie says he tried to stop it and Ella had no idea, Bridget can’t hear them and throws the table with treats at them and everyone starts running

Red and Chloe try to help, but Merlin grabs them and using the time machine sends them back, saying they need to fix this in the present. They end up back in the present (still in their Crowncoming clothes), find out the time machine is destroyed, and run to try and stop Red’s mother one more time, just like Merlin said

Red reveals to her mother that she was the one who kept vandalizing her kingdom and portraits and that she won’t let her rule Aurodon like this. They have a short battle between mother and daughter (while Chloe fights off some of the guards) with a musical reprise of “Love ain’t it” but insteads it’s “Love is it” see I’m clever lol

Bridget almost wins, but finds she can’t hurt her daughter and this lets Red really talk to her, saying she understands what she went through, but there’s still time to fix it, there’s still time to heal and be good again. Bridget relents and Red uses her Crowncoming dress (since it was made by the Fairy Godmother) to fix the Fairy Godmother’s wand

For the most part everything is good and wraps up. We get a good redesign of older Bridget when she leaves for Wonderland and Red herself has a slight redesign

Decided not to confirm Red and Chloe as a couple at the end of the film, but the subtext is there. I felt one of the most important throughlines of the film was Red is not as bad as she thinks and Chloe is not as good as she thinks. I also changed the whole time travel plot because I HATED that they just changed time all willynilly and everything was the exact same.

[kaviary-blog]

Never Knew Her Name

Sad little Drabble featuring Sebastian and an unspecified F!MC

After everything she had done for him and all they had been through, it was only after she was gone that he realized he never knew her. He didn’t even know her name.

Word Count: 726

“The New Fifth Year”

“The Troll Vanquisher”

“The Hero of Hogwarts”

She had many names and he knew her by all.

Except the one she was given at birth.

He could spot her across the hall, pinpoint her voice and laughter in a room, but he couldn’t call to her in anyway that mattered.

She had helped Sebastian with so much throughout the year that she was at Hogwarts. From midnight library escapades to storming goblin camps in the highlands. They had been partners in crime. She knew everything about him, yet he was so focused on his own goals he never paid her any mind.

She was merely background noise, a means to an end. He could hardly call her a friend. Ominis was his friend, they had been through everything together and grown up with each other. She just appeared one day and they spent time together. Her presence didn’t really affect him that much, after all she was always just around the corner or ready to drop everything at his owl. He didn’t need to miss her or wait around, she was at his beck and call.

Occasionally she would take a while to get back to him, spouting some nonsense about “keepers” or whatever she was on about. If it wasn’t about what he was trying to do, he simply didn’t care.

She was an ignorant little girl who doted on everyone around her, like an annoying hummingbird. Always around and nice to look at but difficult to get close to. She did anything as long as you merely asked. Naive and selfless to the point of easy manipulation; and Sebastian knew it.

That was about all that he knew about her.

-

Eventually she disappeared. It had been a couple weeks before he even noticed. She would always show back up, and only then would he have noticed she was gone.

They had gotten into yet another argument about Merlin knows what and he said some admittedly terrible things to her. She had left the Undercroft in tears. And he hadn’t seen her since.

And then the end of the year feast came around, the air was solemn and heavy. What is going on? he thought. Looking around at all the sullen faces of his peers and professors. Some of them offered him condolences, only confusing him more.

It wasn’t until Headmaster Black began talking that it dawned on him.

His “friend” had died.

In a battle to save the school from the goblin rebellion, she had given up her life.

Professor Fig and the now proclaimed “Hero of Hogwarts” had given up their lives to save the wizarding world and those that resided within the castle walls.

Sebastian didn’t hear the rest of Black’s speech, his head ringing with guilt and shame.

He hadn’t spoken to her in months, hell, he hadn’t even seen her since that night in the Undercroft. His chest tightened and he didn’t understand. Why hadn’t she come ask him for help? They were friends, weren’t they?

Except one detail.

He never knew her name.

The realization hit him. Hard. His breath caught in his lungs and his thoughts raced and he tried to recall any information he could about the girl?

Nothing. Not her name nor the color of her eyes; Merlin’s beard, he couldn’t even recall which house she was in.

—

Summer came and went, and he barely even thought about his fallen comrade. He tried not to think about all she would never do. The life she would never lead and all the things she would never get to try. He pushed her from her thoughts, detaching himself from that part of his heart.

Then the new school year started.

In the middle of one of the courtyards stood a brand new statue. Flowers decorated the base, gifts from grateful students who didn’t know who they were thanking.

He approached the statue, it was of his friend. In all her glory, wand held high and bravery permanently etched into her features. At least, if that’s what her features truly were; he couldn’t remember anymore. Maybe that was for the better. You can’t miss someone you never knew.

He looked at the new sculpture, plaque reading “The Hero of Hogwarts”.

He said silent goodbyes and thanked Merlin that he never knew her name.

[purplerakath]

Descendants 4 - Improving the Ending

I had some SUDDEN INSPIRATION and decided to write it out as an answer to the pretty lackluster ending the film had. There are, all told, about three things I really think stand out to why the ending is bad.

...but of course this is all spoilers so let's just clip this now, shall we?

So the items are:

A lack of visible stakes.

A lack of impact from the protagonists.

A misuse of characters already present.

So the stakes overall are 'if Bridget goes evil Brandy gets beheaded' but that's not really an in-the-past stake to weigh on. We need to see events unfold and be there for what happens. And a lot of elements are already in the narrative, they just don't use any of them (and I would imagine they were used in a previous draft).

Step Zero: Set-up

So to start, either through flashback, storytelling, or using the Looking Glass, we need to see if not the prank, we need to see Bridget right after the prank. When she's gone from pink and bubbly to 'red with blood.'

Likely her rejecting Ella. But we need some baseline of what Bridget looks like when she's turning into the Queen of Hearts. if we see the actual prank or not doesn't really matter. But we need to let Ruby Rose Turner play the evil version for a little bit.

Step One: Castlecoming

So to start off, we need to move the 'prevent prank' from Merlin's office to the actual event in question. The actual ticking clock on events unfolding. We keep that Ella promised to go with Bridget, but can't due to being grounded.

Except she can thanks to Fay breaking her out and enchanting her a disguise. This is our first set-up/payoff we didn't get. Fay who shows up at the start failing at magic (who probably needs a second appearance still working at it, and maybe a scene being bolstered up on her abilities) succeeds where it counts.

The disguise fails to fool Uliana. Who uses it to taunt Bridget by suggesting her best friend ditched her for Prince Charming. This puts Bridget in a weaker mental state so that the fallout from the prank can truly hurt her. While Uliana is setting up for Bridget's downfall, her minions are running interference.

Step Two: Swordfights

Chloe and Red are trying to get to Bridget and protect her from Uliana's plan (which for the sake of it doesn't matter, I am keeping as 'potion to make monstrous'). However we've got these four pretty flunkies in Maly, Hades, Morgie, and Hook. Who know that Red and Chloe might be a problem and are there to keep them busy.

This pays off Hook's flirting with Chloe giving them a good swordfight. While Morgie is Red's opponent in a cat and mouse eventually getting him trapped somewhere. These two fights should be shorter, and mostly fun for Morgie being weird and Hook flirting shamlessly for no actual gain.

The real fight is with Maly and Hades. Which is where we get Chloe's moment of growth. See, the set-up for her is rules, honor, and fair play. I want her to win by cheating. She does the right thing, but using the wrong methods. Because the right thing is more important than her honor. Paying off her scene with Ella.

While this is happening Red's scampered off to go save her mom.

Step Three: Pranks and Fallout

When the plot was revealed, before watching, I figured it wasn't an act of cruelty that turned Bridget, but an act of betrayal. That someone close to her failed her so spectacularly she lost faith in others. I'm not working that in exactly, but using the other half of pranks and bullying to make it work.

A cruel person doing a cruel thing hurts. Everyone else laughing hurts worse. So the problem isn't the prank, it's that the rest of the students don't call Uliana out for it. In this case, with Ella MIA because of her Debatably Charming prince we're left with a Bridget facing the school that's against her.

(In this case I'm leaning on them blaming monstrous Bridget for ruining Castlecoming rather than laughing at her misfortune. It feels more in line with where Bridget goes without any help.)

So Red, who arrived too late to stop the prank (pranks being basically what she does to her mom every day with her vandalism) watches, sees the fallout... and stands up for her mother the way she wished her mother would stand up for her.

Because Bridget, unlike her Queen of Hearts, does not deserve this crap. And Red lays into the onlooking students and shames them for their callous disregard of others. Calling everyone out. Guilting the lot of them into shutting up and leaving Bridget alone.

And that's how Red earns her new timeline. Bridget giving Red a hug, thanking her for standing up when nobody else did.

Uliana and the other VKs get detention forever from Merlin. Chloe arrives after everything with her mom and dad. Ella checks on Bridget, Bridget is not okay. But things aren't playing the same way they did in Step Zero. Something has changed.

Step Four: Doubt

While our girls know they changed things. There must be some lingering concern it might not be enough. Even if we got to see them fight their hardest to change the past. It's important that we have the full surprise of how things go after.

The other thing, is both Queen of Hearts and Queen Cinderella need to show some sign of recognizing their girls in the present. Either directly thanking them, or causally mentioning they were named after themselves.

Anything to sell time travel happened.

Step Five: ???? & Step Six: Profit!

This wouldn't make it a perfect movie by any stretch, but it would significantly improve things from where they are. Make the ending feel real. Make it feel earned.

Let Anthony Pyatt own being Hades for more scenes. Cause that guy really did his homework mimicking Cheyenne Jackson.

You know. Just the important parts.