#formorrah

[tiodolma]

Flower of Poison

[pearlashley762]

There are two possibilities that I think can apply.

1. Nothing is determined. The future is a clean slate. Prophecy is just a manipulation tactic for the higher beings because making this particular outcome happen is beneficial to them. They are literally playing gods with people's lives. No regard to humans.

2. Prophecy does exist. Everything is determined. These beings deign it so. They write the fates. I lean more towards this one. The tripple goddess seemed really insistent that the "golden age" of magic happened. To the point that she sent a personal message to Arthur which basically went like "you're not doing a good enough job and I'll kill you if you don't shape up". The disir implied that the Goddess "passed judgement" on Arthur. Well, Arthur didn't know he was even on trial. And this judgement was to make it so that he died. They systematically took these steps, knowing what Merlin would do, and basically walked them to their tragedy. Separating the Once and Future King and Emrys. Tying Emrys to the mortal world and the Once and Future king to the world of the dead.

They clearly have power to dictate what happens. Now...I know it's a long shot, but if they could dictate what happened, why would they be okay with countless magical folk dying at the hands of one man. Why even let those circumstances occur in the first place? Why could they not pass a judgement on Uther?

It all leads me to believe that the non-human magical folks had vested interests in the tragedy and they didn't care what it costed or how it impacted the lives of humans and magical beings who didn't have the power to make such decisions. Maybe the union of the Once and Future King and the greatest sorcerer to ever walk the earth is too great a power that threatens their authority, or existence of pre-existing customs and traditions that keep up their existence. (The whole thing with dieties being alive only as long as someone loves them, prays to them or fears them)

Another thing that paints the higher powers/old religion in bad light is the fact that they talk about an arbitrary balance. To bring a life, a life must be taken. To heal Arthur, a life must be taken. But to heal Leon, the cup is benevolent and requires no price? To open and close the veil, lives had to be sacrificed but I think that the Cailleach says that it's her who requires the souls and not the Veil itself? Do these higher magical folk feed on souls? (She's also the one who sets Morgana off about Emrys. And it is only after that interaction that Morgana starts having visions about it. They are controlling her visions and it doesn't seem that far fetched that that was to send her over the edge)

Besides, people die of non magical reasons all the time and that does not correlate to any births. Do the magics of life and death not require balance there? Plus, the powerful sorcerers summon beasts all the time which don't require anyone to die.(The Griffin, afanc, questing beast, formorrah and that torture creature thingy morgana loved to use for interrogation purposes). The balance aspect of magic of life and death does not apply to unicorns and purity of heart revives them.(Wot)

Add to that the really arbitrary nature of afterlife in this universe. On one hand, the dead turn into vengeful dorrocha, or they turn into even more dissapointed fathers, or they retain their personality (ygraine)...not all of them go to Avalon but the ones that do seem to live forever (Freya). You can bring people back from the dead but they would be out to kill(wraiths, vengeful), or be completely stripped of their personality(shade, lancelot). But these magics cost nothing.

Shide live forever but are still greedy. They want to rule Camelot and for what? What does having power in the human world serve to them?

In any case, the waters of Avalon are a lot murkier than explored and no matter how evil Uther, Morgause, Morgana and other beings were, I would like to see how our beloved idiots deal with beings that are playing with their lives, pulling the strings with no regards to what breaks...or who care too much that they are broken apart.

Okay new question: if you were to rewrite merlin who do you think should be endgame villain, why and what is their goal

[merlinpetpeeves]

[mumble-muse]

📘!

Hey Will <3

So I fully reblogged this ask game so I could have a reason to ramble about one specific idea (I mean I have others I can talk about so anyone feel free to send more 📘)

Okay, so this is currently more of a series of character moments than a plot but enjoy!

So canon AU diverging specifically from 04x09, where at the end of the canon events of that episode, when Lancelot says goodbye to Merlin at the end he doesn't actually die (yay!).

So Merlin has a de-shaded Lancelot who has vague and unsettling memories of being a shade and the veil, but is aware Arthur et al still thinks he's a traitor (oh no!).

Merlin does their usual thing and tries to talk to Arthur about Lancelot being enchanted and Gwen being banished, and they have the conversation they have in Hunter's Heart where Arthur threatens to banish Merlin.

And Merlin fucking snaps.

I really feel like given that Merlin has just gone through everything with Lancelot (resurfacing all that stuff from the veil), Lamia just happened, Gaius being accused of being a traitor, Gwen getting banished, everything with the Formorrah etc etc that it's a pretty reasonable reaction. Like, Arthur still doesn't trust Merlin? Arthur would threaten to banish Merlin?? Merlin has a baby dragon waiting for them, maybe it's time to go be a full-time dragon parent.

Anyway, so Merlin and Lancelot leave, and go find Gwen. At some point before Gwaine tries to go with Merlin, but Merlin stops him due to a combination of look after Camelot, Lamia trauma, and Gwaine's latent anti-magic stuff.

So now it's Merlin, plus a very traumatised Gwen and the man who caused her banishment in the woods. So y'know, awkward.

And then Gwaine shows up anyway. So now it's Merlin, a guy who knows they have magic but was very recently dead/enchanted, one traumatised bestie who doesn't know about the magic (but I'd argue suspects), and a guy who doesn't know about the magic (and has anti-magic tendencies) and is pretty suspicious of Lancelot.

Basically it's a bunch of confused and sad people wandering around the woods.

(Elyan has been asked by Gwen to look after Arthur, and no one else knows Lancelot is alive. Leon and Percival and Elyan and Gaius are still in Camelot).

Merlin tells Gwen and Gwaine officially about their magic (cue drama).

Gwen and Lancelot decide to just be friends cuz yikes enchantment will mess up any relationship.

And this is 100% where my story plan ends and it's just a set of bullet points with question marks next to them:

Merlin goes full Emrys, and at some point brokers a peace with Arthur (but doesn't tell him they're Merlin). I really want to write no Merlin+Arthur reconciliation, because I just feel like if Merlin had space and lived for a little while with people who loved them and their magic, they might think even less kindly of Arthur and Camelot (although anger softened with time etc). They just become allies, with maybe some hope for proper friendship in the future. So two sides of one coin, but at a distance - which is pretty damn tragic.

Percival and Elyan and Gaius as Merlin's people on the inside ;)

I really want to write something where Gwen goes to Morgana as a emissary of Emrys and she somehow sorts out that whole deal.

I want to write a pro-magic legalisation/decriminalisation plot where Merlin stops being so damn patient and complicit, but also where Morgana kills fewer people...

Some plot point which mimics the outcome of the ghost druid boy ep, but is driven more by Merlin using their knowledge of Arthur and his personal actions against the druids etc.

This is set pre-season five so maybe child/teen mordred shows up.

Maayyyybe reunited Arwen, with Gwen important and cool in her own right as Emrys' ambassador etc. But maybe no romance stuff at all, I dunno.

Plus dragons.

Ooof, so yeah... that's what I have so far and I cannot stop thinking about it... As you can see it would be... long... so we'll see if I ever write it!

Put “📓” in my inbox and I’ll explain the plot of a fanfiction that I haven’t written but daydream about.

[merthur-she-wrote]

I’m sure others have already said it, but can I just scream about how much I love this image:

Merlin, under the influence of the formorrah, walking down the hall with a plateful of poisoned food to serve his king, with a pair of god damned black wings!

Nothing says, “I’m evil today. Don’t trust me,” like a pair of black wings. 😈

[ao3feed-merlin]

A Servant Of Two Masters; Alternate Fic

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/37rAlbK

by TheWeirdOnes

What if Gaius couldn't paralyse the Formorrah? What if Gwen had total access to a mallet? What if it was up to the knights to fix everything? (And about time, too!) Find out here!

Chapters every week (not necessarily on the same day each time) By LowFlyingOctopus

Words: 312, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Merlin (TV)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin (Merlin), Gwen (Merlin), Gaius (Merlin), Gwaine (Merlin), Percival (Merlin), Elyan (Merlin), Leon (Merlin), Morgana (Merlin), Agravaine (Merlin)

Relationships: Arthur and Merlin friendship - Relationship, Gwen and Merlin friendship - Relationship, all the knights and Merlin friendship

Additional Tags: Alternate fic, Humour, what if they couldn't paralyse the formorrah

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/37rAlbK

[hayleysstark]

Can you do a short fic where Morgana tortures Merlin? Like in the episode with the formorrah, but she actually hurts him. And stuff. Thanks!

I wish you would write a fic where… Send me an anymous (or not) summary of the fic you wish I would write. (maybe I will write a tidbit)

OH MAN OH BOY OH MAN I HAD WAY TOO MUCH FUN WITH THIS ONE OH MAN HERE YA GO ((you specified “short” so it’s,,,,,,,,,, REALLY short lmao))

It’s getting really hard to hold his head up now. The dark dances always at the edges of his vision, an endless taunt, an eternal tease, look what you can’t have, look what you can’t have, look what she will never let you have, because nothing is too kind, isn’t it—

Morgana pulls back. His blood gleams, a sickly black in the shadows of her hovel, on the pale palms of her open hands. She smiles, and there is something cold and hard and viciously proud in it, in the smooth curve of her cracked lips. 

“Careful, Merlin,” she says, sweetly, and her quick fingers tap lightly at the coarse ropes round his raw and bloody wrists, “you mustn’t struggle. I would absolutely hate for you to hurt yourself.”

[yesthatderpnerdwithnolife]

This happened. In that episode with the formorrah

morgana, holding merlin captive: you better shut up, merlin

merlin: interesting input but have you considered the fact that i don’t give a fuck

[merlinpetpeeves]

[tiodolma]

imho it's not viable when dragoon burned the whole formorrah himself near her hovel.

The way merlin kept the location of morgana's hovel his secret in s4 is a bit similar to the way morgana kept the poisoning her secret is s3. I dont know where im going with this. I think they are both nuts.

Tho i get morgana not using that info to her advantage anymore coz she had bigger fish to fry (uther as her real father). Merlin poisoning her wasn't really politically useful anymore.

Merlin is the one i dont understand coz her hovel location in s4 was the only thing he had against her.

Why are they like this your honor

Why do they have important secrets but dont do anything abt them.