#from nimueh’s fireball

[justaz]

somehow for some reason the knights take on a spell that lights up the scars that litter their bodies. arthur has the most with leon as a close second. gwaine and percival and pretty much tied for third though gwaines are much smaller - from more brawls than battles. elyan and lancelot have their fair share but less that the others. that is until they turn to see merlin lit up like a goddamn glowstick. the others (bar lancelot) had been expecting maybe a few nicks from being on the outskirts of battles or mishaps from working on a farm back in ealdor, not……this. the light (which shines through their clothes as if the fabric isn’t even there) is practically blinding on merlin, covering every inch of skin. more so than even arthur. lancelot prompts them all to move on and everyone does, holding themselves back from asking the questions they desperately want answered

[sugar-coated-prat-dragon]

Title: Merlin was so powerful that he brought Gaius back from the dead at the Isle of the Blessed without the Cup of Life.

Bonus: Something (most likely Emrys) took over Merlin’s body temporarily after the fireball to the chest and he watched from outside his own body with calm disinterest as he killed Nimueh

Source: Merlin book "Dangerous Quests"

@tansyuduri @farieshades @miyriu @ireallyneedaintrestinglife

Book description: She launched a fireball at Merlin.

There was no time to dive aside, no time to summon a shield. Her magic was so powerful...

Merlin fell to the ground.

It was all over.

Merlin felt his life slipping away.

He had been prepared to die. But to know that Gaius had sacrificed his life for nothing ...!

The anger, the injustice, summoned new strength. He pulled his broken body up off the ground.

Nimueh was already walking away. "You should not have killed my friend, he whispered.

She must have sensed something then.

She began to turn towards him...

Merlin looked on the scene impassively.

It was as though he were standing outside his body, watching what was happening with calm disinterest. He was aware of the being that was Merlin standing tall.

He was aware of it raising its hands to the skies, calling on the powers of the universe... He was aware of the lightning, the force through which all that power was channelled...

He saw it hit Nimueh...

He heard her scream

He watched her explode into nothing ...

And then he was himself again.

Amazement filled him.

Had he really done that?

But he wasn't sorry. Not when he looked at Gaius, lying crumpled and forlorn by the altar.

As the rain began to fall - rain that he had brought - he ran over to cradle Gaius' body in his arms, crying his rage out into the cosmos.

The water fell on the physician's upturned face.

Merlin had no idea of his powers. He had no need of the Cup of Life. There, in his arms, Gaius lived again.

‘Merlin..?' he muttered.

The boy's tears of joy mingled with the rain. 'You're alive!'

Weakly, Gaius tried to speak. 'What ... did you ... do?' he asked.

'Nimueh's dead. The balance of the world has been restored.

[kateis-cakeis]

hi!!! Pls rant about Arthur having magic, I love stuff like that!! I’m invested, what’s your favorite fic idea for it?

Hi!!!!! :D

Definitely for sure Arthur having magic (in at least some form) is one of my favourite things to write and read, I just wish there was more of it!!!!

Okay okay, so to answer your question, my favourite fic idea for it, man that's so hardddd! There's so many interesting concepts likeee:

--Arthur finding out about his magic at a young age and keeping it a secret.

--Arthur finding out about his magic at a young age, in front of Uther (I've written a fic like this, but I want more)

--A baby Arthur magics some items around him, and either - his nursemaid freaks out and calls the guards in, and they agree that there's no way Uther would believe them so they keep it a secret, hoping that one day the king will see (as they're afraid of magic).

--Or baby Arthur magics some items around him and Uther sees and in his rage, and with the Great Purge still raging on (it lasted a year so Arthur would be a baby baby), he orders the guards to put Arthur in the cells.

--Or baby Arthur magics some items and Gaius sees, and in his panic smuggles Arthur out of Camelot with Nimueh's help (I wrote something like this once but I never finished it)

--On the other hand, child Arthur suddenly finds out about his magic in front of Uther and Gaius, and Uther, in a fit of rage, orders a stand to be built for his execution at dawn.

Gaius smuggles child Arthur out with the help of some guards who renounced their magic during the Purge. During his escape, the Druids step out from the shadows of the forest and offer to take Arthur in. The guards agree and return to Camelot, while the Druids take Arthur over the border to Ealdor :)

Therefore, Merlin and Arthur grow up together, eventually heading to Camelot when Hunith grows concerned for Merlin (like in canon), and Merlin magically dyes Arthur's hair black - as well as the beard Arthur grows to disguise himself. Uther, of course, does not recognise his son. (Im planning to write this one day, but idk if I ever will) There's of course other ideas where Arthur discovers he has magic as an adult like:

--Maybe an AU where Arthur is a seer like Morgana but gets specific Merlin related dreams. He only works out his dreams are real when Merlin has an injury that lines up with his dreams (say like Arthur seeing a scar from Nimueh's fireball, which he had a dream about)

--Arthur and Merlin are cornered in a fight, and Merlin gets shot with a crossbow bolt - and falls. In a blind panic, Arthur shouts, and everyone gets pushed back. In the moment, he knows what has happened, but he ignores it in favour of getting Merlin home - to Gaius. (The dynamic of this AU would change depending on if Arthur is a prince or king here)

--Oh, another idea is like Aredian deciding to go after Arthur, which makes Arthur very confused - this AU would also include like Aredian being able to sense magic, because as much as he was a faker out there, he was right about who had magic sdjhfghjsd

And these are just some of my ideas, Im trying to not get too away from myself here for you! sdhjfgjhsdhg This is already getting to be a long post. But I love these ideas, some of them I've just made up now, that's how much I love this concept. I don't think I could pick a favourite, but if I had to right now, it would probably be a baby Arthur/child Arthur idea. Just getting to play around with a younger Arthur is so interesting. And baby Arthur requires an Outside POV which is fun to play with too!

But to rant about Arthur having magic, nowww, tumblr user gabalicious-g, aaaah. Okay.

Our mans is born of magic okay. The exact same phrasing is used for Merlin. Let the golden boy have magic, it would really fuck him up :P That's why I love playing around with it in fic! Like how would it affect him?

I don't see him going the way of Morgana. I could see him, if he had found out as child, repressing that part of him wholly in fear, and maybe even disgust. If he found out as an adult, I could see him freaking the fuck out - especially if he was still a prince.

It's just okay, right, right. Arthur is made up of magic, that's how I interpret it anyway. I think lately I like imagining Nimueh summoning water into the Cup of Life, in a similar manner as to when Merlin got the water to save Arthur. So, she gives the water to Gaius (who was the one sent to ask), and Ygraine drinks it, and boom, she's pregnant. So I like to think Arthur is basically like all of what Ygraine is (in looks at least :P) and then magic, magic makes up the rest.

Like it's very easy for me to go, well surely there's something he could do. I mean the whole dying to rise again one day is pretty magical enough :P So, I'm like all brrrr for this concept, so much I cannot resist it.

There's so much you can do even if you don't go full Arthur's a sorcerer AU. There's stuff that can more easily fit into canon, there's stuff you could do post revival to mess around with it. It's just there's so much thereeeee.

And of course, there's how this would all impact Merlin. Like what would he think if he found out/suspected Arthur had magic? Just aaaah so much potential to play withhh.

I love it, I love it. Thank you so much for sending this ask in and giving me an opportunity to talk about it ^.^ :D

Feel free to send another ask if you'd like! 👉👈 :)

[merlin-slut]

the dramatic camera angles with the final fight between merlin and nimueh is really funny and makes it harder to take this serious

ALSO i love fics where arthur sees the giant scar on merlin's chest from nimueh's fireball and is like "merlin bruh what the actually fuck my knights never have been harmed like this before and you're just supposed to be my manservant???"

[merlinssaggyyfronts]

is it just me or is the magic in season one better than every other season? am i just imagining it??

[pippin-katz]

Immortal Merlin’s Deaths

So we know Merlin is immortal, but we’ve also seen him die, at least momentarily. In the Poisoned Chalice, his heart does stop. There’s no canon explanation for how his immortality works so we can interpret it in a lot of ways. I personally like the idea that he can die and come back, rather than not die at all.

So, here’s a list of the times I think he most likely could have died:

Death 1

Season 1, Episode 4 “The Poisoned Chalice”

Like I said in the little intro, his heart momentarily stops as a result of the poison. Gwen and Gaius are certain he’s dead for a moment before he “recovers”.

Death 2

Season 1, Episode 7 “The Gates of Avalon”

The Sidhe staff literally obliterates everyone else in the show besides Merlin. He’s out for a while before Gaius finds him considering the Sidhe and Arthur were already at the lake when he wakes up. Gaius says it’s only thanks to his “powers” that he survived. Even when he comes too, he’s completely disoriented and stumbling. 

Death 3

Season 1, Episode 13 “Le Morte d’Arthur”

This is one I talked about in my post about the fight between Nimueh and Merlin. He’s hit center chest by a fireball from a high priestess. Anyone else would’ve been killed, and we see him go pretty still before he opens his eyes again. When he does, there’s a shift in his physicality, which I mentioned could be part of his magic “restarting”.

Death 4

Season 3, Episode 1 “The Tears of Uther Pendragon: Part 1”

This one is pretty obvious, considering how much the serket venom fucks him up. I wouldn’t be surprised if he died on the way to that cave and Kilgharrah gave him the enchantment to help revive him.

Death 5

Season 4, Episode 1 “The Darkest Hour: Part 1”

This was originally an honorable mention, but a lovely person ( @eruthiawenluin ) in the comments made me change my mind. I had initially included this, then removed it because we see him responsive and awake after the Dorocha hits him, but they pointed out that he could’ve died when the Dorocha touches him. The moments instantly after he’s hit, he could’ve died, and then slowly started to revive because of how powerful and deadly the attack is; it would be quick enough for the knights not to notice while they’re moving him.

Death 6

Season 5, Episode 8 “The Hollow Queen”

This boy has an affinity for getting poisoned/stung. The poison that Morgan gives him in this episode does a lot of damage, plus she basically pushed him off a small cliff. Even with Daegal’s help, he convulses really violently before going very still.

Death 7

Season 5, Episode 11 “The Kindness of Strangers”

This is another one where I think he could’ve died during Kilgharrah’s rescue. A crossbow bolt to the abdomen is definitely a fatal wound to a normal person. He struggles during this episode, even with Finna’s help. When he calls for Kilgharrah, his voice is basically a whisper because of how much it strains him.

Death 8

Season 5, Episode 12 “Diamond of the Day: Part 1″

This could be the first instance of Merlin being aware of his death. He’s dying during his conversation with Balinor. He genuinely thinks there’s no point in trying anymore. Balinor talks him out of it and tells him to walk “toward the light”. Then he wakes up in the Crystal Cave completely fine.

Honorable Mentions

Here’s some moments that he got very injured or really close to dying in that I wasn’t sure if I should include. The ones on the list are pretty easy to argue, and I could make a case for these too, but they’re not as strong.

Nonetheless, here you go:

Mace Hit

His wound from the mace has Arthur complimenting and being sincere with him, which is a damn good indicator of how bad the hit was. I could argue that he could’ve died between the rock fall and Morgana’s hut, but it felt like a stretch to say Morgana wouldn’t notice if he actually died. His wound is also still there when Morgana wakes him up, which usually he comes back mostly if not entirely healed.

Morgana’s Sneak Attack

Yeah, he’s still alive when they bring him back to camp, but the fact that Gaius had to use healing magic to wake him up says how bad Morgana hurt him. I don’t think he ever actually stops breathing, so I didn’t include it.

Falling Off a Cliff

You’re telling me, that he fell off that, and lived?! That’s a pretty high fall and some pretty rough rocks. We don’t see him directly after, though I’ll point out that he’s miraculously uninjured during their campfire talk. A fall like that should break a LOT of bones at least. Still, can’t confirm that he couldn’t survive.

Second Hit from Sidhe Staff

He gets hit with the Sidhe staff again when that guy uses the mage stone to reflect it. He’s knocked out for what seems like a lot less time though, and maybe having experienced it before his magic adapted against it.

General Being Thrown Into Things

They really should’ve come up with a clear indicator between when a character gets thrown against something and dies, versus when they get thrown against something and knocked out. The number of people that Merlin, Morgana, and Morgause kill by throwing them into a wall or a rock is a LOT, but Merlin has the same thing happen to him all the time, but he’s fine. This is more of a “he should’ve died” thing than “he could’ve died”.

Alright that’s all I could come up with, but let me know if you think I missed something and I’ll update it.

[little-ligi]

Febuwhump - No.22

No.22 - Burned Fandom - BBC Merlin Wordcount - 1160 @febuwhump

“Hold still,” Gaius scolded as Merlin squirmed again under his hand.

“It hurts,” Merlin whined.

“Of course it does. You took a ball of fire to your chest.”

Gaius tutted and continued pressing the compress to the burn on Merlin’s chest, his other hand on his shoulder holding him flat down on the bed. Merlin kicked his feet helplessly, moaning as the pain seared under his skin. He squeezed his eyes shut.

That didn’t help; closing his eyes just made him more aware of the horrible stink of burnt skin and singed hair mixing with the sharp smell of the vinegar that Gaius was using on the compress. He wrinkled his nose and pouted up at Gaius.

“Yuck,” he grumbled.

“It will stop any infection,” the physician told him, lifting the cloth to examine the burn underneath.

Continue reading on Ao3, FF.net or below! 👇

Merlin peered down at his chest too. Nimueh’s fireball had struck him hard and the large pink burn spread over his sternum like a sunburst, the edges charred and peeling. He hissed as Gaius dabbed the cloth a few more times before removing it and fanning Merlin’s chest with one hand, letting the vinegar dry slightly.

Gaius sat back and picked up a bowl from the bedside table, beginning to stir the poultice in it. That one, at least, seemed to smell a lot nicer. Merlin pushed himself up onto his elbow, one hand ghosting over his chest, poking at the edge of the burn carefully to test the pain. It stung ferociously, the skin around it hot and itchy and he had to suppress the urge to give it a good scratch.

“Stop that.” Gaius batted his hand away with a sigh. “You are a terrible patient, my boy.”

“Just curious,” Merlin replied with a grin, which turned to a grimace as Gaius pushed him back down onto the bed and began spooning the poultice onto the wound.

“Really? I’ll make a physician of you yet.” Gaius chuckled.

Although he probably regretted the sentiment a moment later when Merlin stuck his finger into the bowl of poultice. He lifted the sticky finger to his nose and gave it an exaggerated sniff.

“Smells tasty,” he commented happily, watching as Gaius smeared it all over his chest. It stung and ached and Merlin couldn’t help shifting, involuntarily pressing his back down into the bed to try and shy away from Gaius.

“Honey, blackberry leaves, potato and common John’s wort. Now, stop moving!”

Merlin stopped wriggling and flinching to beam up at Gaius.

“Blackberry leaves? Does that mean you have some blackberries too?” He curled his toes in anticipation, his mouth watering as he tried to focus on the pleasant thought rather than the pain still flaring over his chest.

Gaius smiled at him, giving his shoulder a small squeeze.

“Yes.” Merlin made a happy sound but Gaius held one finger up, his eyebrow arched as he wagged it at Merlin. “But only if you let me finish tending this without wriggling!”

Grinning cheekily, Merlin froze, tensing all of his muscles to stay as still as possible. Gaius gave him a stern, but fond, look, and continued spreading the poultice, making sure every inch of the pink blistered skin was covered.

Once he was done, he patted Merlin’s stomach.

“There we are, my boy.”

“Thank you.” Merlin looked down at his chest; it was covered by a splodge of dark green sticky paste, but it didn’t seem to hurt as much anymore. When he looked back up again he saw Gaius had left the room and he could hear him rinsing his hands down in the main room. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and made to stand up.

“Don’t you move from that bed, Merlin!” Gaius called.

“I’m not!” he shouted, quickly shuffling back onto the bed and lying down again, his hands behind his head.

Gaius’s eyes were narrowed when he came back in the room, crinkled at the sides with mirth. He sat down on the bed beside Merlin, passing over a bowl of blackberries. Merlin took it with a grin.

Gaius laid a hand on his shoulder, giving it a small shake.

“I’m proud of you.”

Merlin ducked his eyes, a smile breaking across his face.

“Thank you, Gaius.”

Before Merlin could say any more, the door to the physician’s chambers banged open.

“Where’s my good for nothing manservant?” he heard Arthur call good-naturedly.

“Up here, Sire,” Gaius called back, patting Merlin on the knee and getting up to leave.

He crossed Arthur in the doorway of Merlin’s room, stopping him momentarily to check the sling holding his arm and pull the collar of his shirt away to look at the bandages still wrapped around his shoulder.

“I’ll redress that for you, Sire,” the physician told him and Arthur nodded his thanks. Gaius bustled downstairs.

“Are you alright?” Merlin asked, pushing himself more upright on the bed so he could see Arthur. The bandage peeking out from under the collar of his shirt was dotted with blood.

“Takes more than a Questing Beast to take me down,” Arthur said with a confident smirk, patting himself on the chest.

Merlin rolled his eyes. If only Arthur knew…

The prince came over, giving the bed’s leg a kick so Merlin was jerked slightly.

“What happened to you?” he asked, a worried frown pulling his brow down, even as he tried to pull his typical uncaring expression.

Merlin shifted guiltily, not meeting Arthur’s eye.

“I, uh, I had an accident…” He looked down at the mess of poultice over his chest. “With, um, a candle?”

“A candle?” Arthur stared at Merlin’s chest incredulously, his eyebrows now high on his forehead.

Merlin nodded, grimacing. “A big candle.”

Arthur shook his head, giving him the look that Merlin had learnt by now meant he thought he was an idiot.

“Don’t I smell good though?” he said with a grin, waving a vague hand at the sweet smelling poultice.

“Well, it’s better than your usual rotten vegetable and stable stink,” Arthur said with a shrug.

Merlin scowled at him, tugging his bowl of blackberries towards himself and stuffing a few berries in his mouth to muffle the “prat,” he shot back at Arthur.

“Ah, lovely,” Arthur prised the bowl from Merlin’s hand, popping a berry into his mouth with an exaggerated hum of contentment. “Mmm, these are good.” He ate a few more, ignoring Merlin’s spluttered protests and his grabs for the bowl.

Eventually he relented, holding a blackberry in front of Merlin’s mouth. Merlin considered biting his finger but instead just lunged forwards and licked his hand before snatching the berry between his teeth.

“Yuck!” Arthur wiped his hand on Merlin’s blanket, rolling his eyes.

Merlin couldn’t help grinning at him; the burn on his chest was completely worth it to have saved the prat’s life. He nudged him with his elbow, catching Arthur’s attention.

“I’m glad you’re still alive, cabbage head.”

[merlinficprompts]

Prompt #8

Merlin has many scars across his body. He wears everything, from the serket sting and Nimueh’s fireball to tiny scratches from tripping up the castle stairs, all over his pale skin. Merlin always wears long sleeves and pants to hide all the scars, because he doesn’t want Arthur to look at him differently, or ask a bunch of questions. 

One day though, Merlin goes out with the rest of the knights and Arthur, out to a river near Camelot. Everyone else is messing and joking around in the river, since it’s so hot out, but Merlin refuses to take off his shirt and go in the river. Eventually, it gets too hot for Merlin, and when he thinks no one is paying attention, he takes off his shirt and goes in the river. 

“Merlin, what happened to you?” Merlin hears one of the knights ask while they stare at Merlins chest and arms.

[thatgaywizardoverthere]

OH MY GOD WAIT ALTERNATE ENDING OPTION BECAUSE I CAN

Okay so imagine Arthur obviously knows about Merlin’s magic since they’re together so they constantly sneak off to resolve shit and Uther thinks they’re sneaking off for like nighttime trysts in the woods or something (which lets be real sometimes they 100% are but that’s a different matter entirely). Anyways one night Uther follows them cause he NEEDS TO KNOW but what he ends up finding is Merlin like shivving a griffin he couldn’t negotiate with and then just obsessively fretting over Arthur who was literally like 50ft away from the danger zone the entire time. And that’s when Uther realizes that not only are they definitely gay for each other but also way too gay to ever betray each other or Camelot. And that’s what makes him officially decide to move towards repealing the ban on magic. Uther keeps following them throughout the years and now has a diary full of shit like “Arthur cradled Merlin’s face” that completely leaves out details like “Merlin was struck by a fireball and then straight up exploded that bitch Nimueh” which drives Geoffrey - who was obviously recruited to help document this historical romance and is now fully invested - absolutely batshit. Arthur and Merlin finally come out to Uther years later when the magic ban is fully repealed figuring at least Merlin can now legally magic them out of a bad situation if the king doesn’t approve but Uther is just like “I know, I’ve stalked you guys for like 8 years, Geoffrey and I are writing a book about it. Anyways, tell your husband he’s court sorcerer now. Also I can’t believe I didn’t get an invite to your Druid wedding, I had to hide in the fucking bushes. Anyways-” And that is how the time of Albion is born. Just from some dudes so goddamn gay even the king thought it was legendary.

Bro imagine how much funnier BBC Merlin would’ve been if Uther stopped obsessing over sorcery after Merlin arrived cause he got too distracted trying to figure out if Merlin and Arthur were gay for each other for the next like 10 years