#kinda sorta god!merlin

[justaz]

a sorcerer who is tired of waiting for emrys to step into who he meant to be, tired of watching him simply protect the once and future king from the shadows, steps in and somehow makes it seem like they killed arthur - perhaps knocking his soul from his body so it seemed lifeless and merlin couldn’t sense him there anymore. merlin becoming enraged and going after the sorcerer, slowly burning away his mortality, burning away merlin, until all thats left is emrys. pure power crackles around him, his eyes pure gold, the world cracking with every step he takes, embers falling from his lips as dragon fire burns in his chest.

arthur waking up, dazed and confused. the knights don’t have time to catch him up as they all trip over themselves trying to follow after merlin. arthur seeing The Emrys towering over a beaten and bloodied sorcerer who is cheering him on, supporting the change they’ve instigated. arthur being the only one to step up and pull merlin back into his body, bringing back his humanity. the winds stop whirling, the earth is healing itself, the fire calms within him. the golden eyes are the last to go.

[chronicowboy]

god the start of season 4 when agravaine is shamelessly manipulating arthur, trying to craft him into uther so he's more justified in his hatred of him, trying to isolate arthur from the people he cares about because its not proper or a sign of strength, and the fact that it works !! or it should, it almost does, but agravaine didn't account for merlin. merlin who isn't just a manservant, isn't just a kinda-sorta friend, isn't just an informal advisor, but is arthur's main pillar of support and council, merlin who would never let arthur lock himself away all alone, merlin who pushes arthur to the fucking limit and suffers his rages and his insults just so that arthur knows there's someone there. yeah, fuck, its all well and good that merlin's willing to die for him, but idk for me its the smaller acts of unwavering devotion that make merthur so fucking good.

[forgottenroisin]

Macdara I of Malconaire, King of Oak & Tree, Lord of the Wood, Wielder of Guardian the Oakenbrand, Keeper of the Sacred Groves, Warden of Malconaire, called Oakensteel

ok so obv these titles are 10000% made up/aren't his real stuff etc etc etc (also defffff are considered a list of his seacred duties rather than his honors in this context!!), but!! i thought, in light of this new info we've got re: kings and their castles in astaira, we might wanna talk a bit about the malconaires' og kingly ancestor? now, we've talked abt how they're one of the oldest great houses in all astaira, so im guessing that'd mean this dude is probs a mytho-historic figure to them, a la king arthur?

we'd also talked asp a bit abt how, maybe way back when, astaira was maybe originally ~multiple countries~ that came together to fight the gods and, after that, set up elections between them and their whole culture/convention of elected leaders kinda sprang out of that? ~if we do go w that idea, im guessing that house malconaire and the other of the oldest houses were kings of their respective lands? like, lorcan and stafford seem to be some of those but calleary, for example, is one we've explicitly talked abt being a newer house, so they probs ~weren't, for example?

(note: @forgottenvalentina believes this is all nonsense btw!! she will stubbornly maintain they are ~not of the blood royal as she herself most certainly is! lkjasdklfjsdjf as lizzy said, they're of a ~broken line of kings whereas she is ~not -- roderick: 'wait didn't i kill those guys?' ;DDD)

either way tho! what i ~really wanted to talk abt a bit is ~actually castle malconaire or, more precisely, its guardian tree and an idea i think ive mentioned a bit that i actually stole wholesale from the odyssey #sorrynotsorry so, in the odyssey, its revealed (its a whole thing but anyway) how odysseus carved his marriage bed out of a still-living tree (in his case an olive but shhh) and it was still this living, growing thing and here's a recreation of how it is kinda described w like...the bed is a tree but lowkey so is the whole bedroom sorta thing:

we've also discussed how the tree, like in the odyssey, is the center of the home and how its 1) a guardian and 2) also the sheath of guardian the sword. well, i thought it might also be, nestled upstairs amongst higher branches the lord's bed/bedroom even as it reaches out of the roof far above and to the sky, and possibly below...the ancient malconaire throne...

like, maybe those trees at the front door are all part of this one absolutely insanely mammoth ancient ancient ancient tree that's been built around to make a home/castle, and at its central stalk right in the middle of the great hall is the sheath and the throne a la

(idk why the above wont preview like the others???) or

but still living, growing out of the tree like

or even

bc perhaps ~it is also the portal to find the sword...and to free the gods. what if the reason the sword is lost is bc its acting as a key in a very, very ancient lock, one of many no doubt such as the eternal flame in kolchis and others im sure, that's helping to hold back the gods or smth????? idk?????

i was just thinking abt how, like, in celtic mythology trees sometimes ~are portals...and also prisons, think merlin walking inside the tree and never walking out again as a more modern telling of this concept. a lot of celtic heroes walked into the otherworlds by walking through the opening in a tree and arrived in faerie etc but once they went in they often never returned or, if they did, it was centuries after they'd left and that sort of thing...

so anyway basically the staffords, malconaires, and lorcans think they're doing good by reclaiming the lost stafford sword, and thus galvanizing astaira to fight for its freedom, hoping to keep the gods at bay, but in so doing, they're actually unwittingly making the jail that binds them weaker??? or smth?? idk...alskjfkljdsf like, there's a reason their ancestors sealed it away and ensured that none but their bloodline, its keepers, could ever undo what they'd done, etc??? but the secret of what they're keeping has been lost over the centuries and just the legends of the sword remain now unrelated to the tale of the irmprisoned evil gods??? idk!!!

this might also be part of why @forgottengodfrey is helping them bc he's read all these ancient tomes and sort of puzzled out that these families are significant to his apocalyptic dreams?

~also, side note, @forgottenrian regardless of all the above, v much wants the ancient stafford sword to prove his legitimacy as ruler of astaira so yeah!! lotsa threads here idk????

its also like...we can have parts of this be true w/o the rest necessarily needing to be true. for example, we can have the cosmetic stuff like the central tree and not the plot stuff, or like just the throne or just the portal or...whatever!! but yeah idk i was like 'we could maybe combine all of this???' and went a bit bonkers here hahaha i def will not be offended if you guys aren't feeling this it was just a wild notion i had so i wanted to share! lajksfkljsdf

EDIT! oh one more thing! what if the sword, guardian, is called such bc its actually -- or its hilt is -- a piece of the guardian tree and so its said that the blade shall always remain sharp so long as its wielded by a malconaire but for any nonbeliever who picks it up it shall return to a branch? and it has some eternal-living ivy twining around the hilt? some visuals:

also the door:

[1shadowhole]

Pictures of Colin Morgan in Dead Shot that remind me of Merlin from Following the Beast

Ever since the trailer came out I felt like Colin in this film looks exactly like I imagined Merlin to be in Footloose's Following the Beast, so here's a list of screenshots to prove my point. Long post ahead get ready everyone.

These just give the general vibe:

But also: Alcohol in a cluttered flat:

The very first scene - nay! SENTENCE! Merlin getting strangled after being knocked off his feet (by a tentacle, not a shoe, still counts):

Then later on, when he's about to pass out in the middle of a cross-walk (Lovely spot, btw):

Going to the pub with Mordred following him:

Merlin getting into the cab to take Arthur home:

And, of course, the ✨✨flick✨✨

"What flick?" you may ask, "What are you talking about!? WHY ARE YOU IN MY HOUS-" Those are all good questions. THIS flick, of course:

"A flick of the collar stopped the drizzling rain from dripping down the back of his neck"

(If i knew how to make gifs I'd show you that this is in fact, a flick, but you'll have to trust me on this one: he just flicked up the collar.)

Merlin in the warehouse at Mary's shop:

Being a nameless pervy blighter at Arthur's School (thank you, Tommy):

(The kids would be older, the bars would be higher, and the older kids would also, coincidentally, be higher, but it still works)

Confronting Kilgarrah:

Confronting George, and being shocked that this guy doesn't giveth a fucketh about Merlin's orders:

Merlin being told by Mordred that he is in love (there was a moment where he looked more shocked here, but I couldn't get the right frame):

The next part of that scene, where Merlin gets up after his magic finished healing him and tells Mordred about the trackers he placed (oh look, Mordred is even the same guy as before):

Getting in the car with Arthur's friends, Nephilim, allies, men to go save his ass:

Mordred getting Merlin home after he drank himself stupid (Imagine him a bit more unstable... also look!! Same guy once again!)

On the ground during his fight with Morgause:

Ok so picture him naked and with water all over the floor and this is him after the bath exploded after seeing the future:

Ritual preparations:

In the courtyard, during Uther's speech, looking for who is going to try to kill Arthur in the crowd: (he should be better dressed at this point I think but i don't care just- stick with me here)

How I imagine him to look like after he found Arthur after having killed Morgause and Arthur confronted Morgana alone:

Merlin walking towards Nimueh's house to rescue Leon (just imagine it's raining):

Merlin watching Arthur coming out of Nimueh's home covered in blood and gore, having the only rational reaction in that situation which is, obviously, falling harder and finding the whole thing quite attractive, actually:

Sadly, there is no kiss between Arthur and Merlin given the fact that Bradley wasn't in the film and this is not, in fact, the Following the Beast movie, even though I might have convinced you with these photos and captions. I am sure that someone who has read it had some influence on the look, I swear to God. Btw this is completely how I picture the fic to look like, so maybe I am 100% off and this was all useless.

Also, this dude right here IS Kilgarrah. I swear, they play the same role! If you'll watch the movie you'll know what I mean. And Colin kills him towards the end, which is sorta kinda what happens in the fic... but not really, but TBF it is sort of hinted that Merlin will make the lizard pay for all the bullshit, so really that's the same.

So, I hope I have proved my point today, and also showed once again how unhinged I am about this fic. (or any of footloose's stories, but that's not what this post is about) It's unhealthy.

This post took a while, and it's for the very small demographic of people who happened to watch the film and also read Following the Beast, so some would say that it's a "waste of time" and "you should be studying" and "don't you have four exams in like 5 weeks?", but I would call them haters. So yeah

also, I found this review of the movie:

Really? IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER? Are you kidding me? I know this guy is mentioning a completely different movie, but I'm losing my mind That's all I had to say, so byyyyeee to all of the maybe 2 people who read through all of this.

[avaitor]

Avi’s HC’s: Kingsman Edition

Since I always have a shitload of silly lil ideas and HC’s bubbling in this empty bone cavern, I have decided to share them with you uninterested folks

Anyways, here are some HC’s for my bbg, James Spencer, also known as Lancelot, who had very little screentime

⁍⁍ He cannot cook. I love and adore him, but he simply cannot.

⁍⁍ Pranks. No one is safe, not even Arthur. He’s only still an agent because he is (was) so good at his job.

⁍⁍ Roxy’s uncle. The man spoils her rotten.

⁍⁍ Pure, unchained theater kid energy. He has a flair for the dramatic, and sometimes injects old-fashioned phrases into conversations.

⁍⁍ Absolutely loves dogs, never had to go through the dog test and has zero knowledge of its existence. Percival doesn’t have the heart to tell him.

⁍⁍ Prefers not to wear his glasses because “he doesn’t need them”. Also thinks that they negatively affect his “devilishly good looks.”

⁍⁍ This man is a dork and kind of a dumbass but he’s my skrunkly. My bbg. Perhaps even my funky lil guy (even though this man is much taller than my 5′1 ass.)

⁍⁍ Cares very much about his looks, one of the peacocks of the agency. On par with Harry when it comes to preening.

⁍⁍ He has the worst fashion sense out of all of the Kingsman agents, and he’s kinda extra. A few times he has almost gone on missions while wearing the most god-awful ties.

⁍⁍ Speaking of missions, he’s a bit of a wild card. He likes flashy entrances, fire, and explosions. There are a few times where he’s managed to level entire buildings somehow. 2nd major cause of poor Merlin’s hair loss.

⁍⁍ He also believes that Lee should have been Lancelot, and that he was only picked because he was the one who lived, the runner-up. Perhaps he suffers from a bit of survivor’s guilt.

⁍⁍ No matter how much he tries, he cannot/is afraid of taking things seriously. His first instinct is to joke or lighten the mood, or even dismiss what is mentioned because he is afraid. He’s so used to being the “fun” one, and just doesn’t know how to handle anything else.

⁍⁍ Very physically affectionate, in contrast to Percival. This man would give the best hugs.

⁍⁍ He’s great with kids, but sucks at babysitting because he usually goes along with shenanigans.

⁍⁍ Gets along well with Harry, and probably would’ve gotten along with Eggsy if it hadn’t been for his untimely demise.

⁍⁍ He’s like a golden retriever personified, and he hates sitting for long periods of time.

Sorta au-ish stuff under the cut

⁍⁍ He did not die, I am in complete denial, he somehow avoided death and comes back after Golden Circle. Maybe they find him while on another mission, or maybe he just shows up, I don’t know.

⁍⁍ Very, very out of the loop, but once he meets Eggsy, the two are certainly a force to be reckoned with.

⁍⁍ Tearful reunion with Roxy, who is also alive because I said so, maybe he’s a bit panicked because she almost died.

⁍⁍ A bit stunned that Arthur (Chester)  is dead, but oh well.

⁍⁍ Percilot. He’s lowkey had it bad for Percival for a while, but after he comes back boom it’s confession time, they get together, and they’re both happy.

⁍⁍ He’s so sweet with Perci and they love each other very much. Again, he’s such a dork I adore him sm.

[kiwikipedia]

I know that the Grand Saber is pretty much confirmed (well not confirmed confirmed but I’d be surprised if it wasn’t) to be another Arturia clone but since While technically the Grands are known as the seven strongest of an era, here are some alternatives I think might work or would be funny as shit

Musashi Miyamoto (Girl): This one’s kinda a given. She was implemented, reused, and went out in a sorta random way imo? Like. By all means her “death” was cool and she was cool until the end, but it seemed… off to me? Chaos kinda came from out of nowhere but ykwe or something. Personally I just want Musashi back

Musashi Miyamoto (Real/Male): We know he exists. He’s been eluded to multiple times with our known Musashi stating she is and isn’t “Musashi”. Musashi is also often considered to be one of the best sword masters in Japan

Sasaki Kojiro (saber): We’ve seen him once before and we all know how Fate likes to drag FSN characters for as long as they can even if the fandom is tired of them. Personally I’d like more Kojiro over more Arturia !! Like Musashi, he’s one of Japan’s most recognizable sword masters

Fiore dei Liberi: the author of one of the oldest surviving treatises on fencing is pretty notable in terms of sword wielding historical figures right? There’s not much known about him which would give Takeuchi and Nasu a good bit freedom and probably smack him with the Genderbend Laser. I think a prominent swordsman is the best for the Grand Saber if we draw from straight historical fact and not Nasu historical fact

Altera: Laser Sword go brrrr. In seriousness though, she is my number one choice for a Grand Saber. A number of the “Grand” servants have some connections to the divine, right? Solomon and Noah with the biblical God, The Old Man of the Mountain with Allah, Romulus and Orion with the Roman and Greek gods, Tezcatlipoca is a god himself… Merlin is technically an outlier, I guess but before he filled Solomon’s seat, all the Grands known were/were associated with the divine. Altera in FGO is vaguely associated by way of Mars, but in the EXTELLA line of fate, she’s just straight up a deity i believe— With her true form being that if of the Great God of Sefar. There’s some alien stuff too Granted Sefar was killed by Excalibur (somehow?? The timeline matches up not at all but WHATEVER fate like Excalibur) and her body became the Valkyrie? Brynhildr, Giants, and Altera. Sefar also shows up twice in Lostbelt Lore: Atlantis and Avalon. I’d say that’s a big calling card. (Zeus beat Sefar in Atlantis with the other gods, in Avalon she destroyed the world as per goal.) But my god. wouldn’t it be cool to see two alien gods beating the shit out of each other? Ofc I’ve gotten off topic, as Sefar and Altera are the same but not, and Sefar is more of an outer god/beast/foreign god, but using that connection and the fact that Altera is quite powerful in her own right as the Destroyer of Civilization and Attila the Hun, I think seeing her utilized as the Grand Saber would be much more interesting than Arturia. And would bring back some of her actual character instead of Bad Civilization jokes.

Peleus: I think this one is less likely as we have Achilles as a servant and Greece is pretty much over and done, but according to legend, his sword is one that grants its wielder victory in battle and when hunting. Besides, we’d have that heroic link, the divine link, and I’m ALWAYS a sucker for more of Chiron’s extended family to show up.

Perseus: Isn’t he technically a fate character already? Back on the Greek train I guess lol. Anyways, who doesn’t know Perseus? He’s a hero in his own right and his sword Harpe is referenced often in literature anyways. I think he’d be an interesting choice

Heracles: while we’re on the topic of Greeks, why not add Herc to the list? Recognized as one of if not the most well known Greek Hero of all time, He’s already also recognized as an Archer Class as per FSF, but would it be a stretch to also include Saber? Ofc, with Orion all the Greeks could be void given the shared mythology root, but Noah and Solomon exist so yk. I’m also just down to see more Heracles

Sir Agravain of Iron: this is really more of a “wouldnt it be fucking funny” choice for me, and doesn’t fit in with the greatest of all time bit, but I think it would be funny as hell. he does not want to be here and yet he is. I just think it would be funny if everything is hyped up to the max about a new Arturia except the reveal is this guy that no one likes, he also does not like anyone, he hates humans on principle, would kill his mother for less than a cornchip, but somehow in a twist of reality and lostbelt fuckery he was given Excalibur and the Crown by way of blood right and efficiency. “But but but that deviates from human history-“ that didn’t stop Romulus!! I think at this point nothing matters about the who what and when aspects. Plus? FGO is sometimes known for these hyped up and then fucking weird plot twists so I think it would just be funny personally. I cannot stress enough how much he does not want to be here.

Most of these are just ideas and thoughts, knowing Takeuchi and Nasu, we’re likely going to be getting a version of Arturia/Arthur as the Grand Saber. But it’s fun to think about.

[number1mongrel]

...Heck it I'm gonna talk about my headcanoned version of Kid Gil enjoy

So you know how people, when they have some extremist beliefs which they realize are wrong, don't always immediately start acting healthier, and they instead flip around to the other extreme? We'll come back to this.

Anyways, so there's also Gil having Clairvoyance but not really using it. And who else has Clairvoyance? Solomon, whose basically went his entire life acting out God's will and never ever using it for himself. And Gil was meant to be the Wedge of Heaven, keeping humanity obeying the rule of the Mesopotamian Gods.

So basically, what I was thinking was, what if a very young Gil was kinda like Solomon. If both Kings had Clairvoyance, that maybe the Clairvoyance was in part a way for the Mesopotamian Gods to communicate their will to their Wedge, and steer humanity more easily towards their desired outcomes and futures. And while he was still regularly relying on his clairvoyance and listening to the gods, that was when Gil was all polite and sweet and a good boy. I imagine he was still distant from humanity-- it was less that he cared a lot for people, and more that. He neither hates nor loves them, so may as well be polite so we can all get along. Why not be kind and obedient?

Then, for whatever reason, he realized he had some sort of wake-up call. And decided that whatever the gods had had planned for him and humanity, he no longer wanted anything to do with it. And so began ignoring his clairvoyance (most of the time anyways, there's still the dreams) and began actively rebelling against the gods and working to separate humans from them. Not only that, he came to the realization he shouldn't just be acting subservient to a bunch of gods as their intermediary, he was the king! His subjects and treasures and city were HIS to protect and enjoy, not the gods'! They weren't king, he was!

...And then he proceeded to swing to the other extreme in 'being himself' and 'enjoying his treasures and subjects'. And it took until Enkidu and the herb to learn about 'moderation' and become the wise king.

So yeah. Kid Gil disliking both adult Gils because Hey What Are You Doing Why Did You Turn Off Your Clairvoyance. Stop That. You're Gonna Do Something Wrong. Meanwhile Archer Gil and CasGil almost completely failing to recognize Kid Gil as a version of themselves when running into him because Don't Be Stupid, Mongrel, I'd Never Act Like That.

This is also fun to me because I think parallels are Great and Amazing. Solomon always remains the dutiful and obedient king, until he's capable of having freedom given to him, but when he learns about the Incineration of Humanity, willingly decides to diligently work to prevent it and preserve humanity anyways, learning about how to be a human through those experiences and also his friendship with people like Guda(k)o and Mash, while Gilgamesh just grabs at his chance to be free but needs to slowly learn that he's no better than anyone else by losing first Enkidu, then the Plant of Immortality. (But afterwards is completely 'content' to just eternally isolate himself as humanity's guardian. Too prideful and too much to get along with most of them, but still generally benevolent towards them... kinda sorta)

...And then we have Merlin who also watches over humanity and wants a happy ending for them but goes to an even greater extreme in isolating himself from all of them.

Anyways I like all three of them and I want more content of them being forced to be coworkers. (Or boyfriends. I will also accept all three being boyfriends.) Anyways I went horribly terribly off-track but Gil wildly flailing about different extremes trying to find a balance before Figuring It Out is nice for me and parallels are Always Great and I hope you enjoyed.

OH YEAH YEAH I LOVE THIS!!!! i feel the exact same way, in fact i've been meaning to make a post for awhile now talking about the parallels between gil and solomon bc there's a LOT. and yes! that makes so much sense with kid gil simply being on his best behavior because that's what he believes his whole purpose in life, what he was literally created for, is. and yeah, despite kid gil being nicer, we ALSO never actually see him doing any grand gestures to protect humanity like his adult selves do. he generally seems a lot less passionate about things in general, the only exceptions being when he acts more like his adult self. it's only when he realized how empty and lonely his existence was and that he was being used as a tool that he began to lash out both against the gods and humans

[ameliora-j]

twin flame iii // gw x reader

words: 2.2k

warnings: angst, breakup, mention of bruising, crying, angelina slander kinda (it’s just for the story i love her sm!), yn is sorta a pick me if you squint sry, cringey mediocre writing at very best

an: i used song lyrics for some of the argument and the ending :) i hope you like it besties!

part one | part two | part four

you george! i want you!

the words had been running through his mind since the night you left. he had been going over the days leading up to your explosion in his mind for weeks. your words were in his mind day and night. your pained expression, your anger, your hurt. you consumed him. more than you usually did.

george weasley knew he fucked up. he knew without anyone telling him. but they did anyway. every waking second they did. first it was fred, calling him a jerk. then ron, who called him a “bloody idiot.” then ginny, who told him it was his own fault. and then his mum. of course his mum, who said in exact words: “george fabian weasley, this is nobody’s fault but your own. quit moping around and do something to fix it! i didn’t raise you to treat women this way!”

his last straw, however, was his older brother percy. percy of all people. who looked at him with a disappointed shake of his head. receiving a disappointed head shake from percy was nothing out of the ordinary, especially for george. it was his words that stung. percy spoke ten simple words to him that truly set george off. percy spoke “you lost the best thing that’s ever happened to you.” at his sentence, george lost it.

“i know that percy! you don’t think i fucking know that i lost the best thing that ever happened to me! and fred i know i’m a jerk and ron i know i’m an idiot and ginny i know it’s my fault and mum i’m sorry okay! i know you didn’t raise me like this i don’t know what’s wrong with me but i don’t think she’s coming back!” he fell back onto the couch as he tugged frustratedly at his roots.

“george… do you love her?” molly asked him.

“yes mum,” a whimper escaped the fiery-haired boy’s throat. “i love her more than i’ve ever loved anyone before. she’s my world,” he revealed.

“then go, george. go get her,” his dad said. “for your sake and her’s,” he told him.

“and our’s!” fred called distantly from the kitchen.

��shove off fred!” george called back before apparating to your front door. he knocked three times and waited for someone to answer it. when you opened the door, he was shocked at your state.

makeup streaked down your cheeks with your shoulder bruised and your arm in a splint. your eyes were red and puffy, but they were furthermore accompanied by dark bags as if you hadn’t slept in weeks. the truth is; you hadn’t. “hi george,” you mumbled half heartedly.

“hi butterfl-“ you cut him off.

“yn. my name is yn,” you spoke sternly.

“i’ve called you butterfly since you were three…” he murmured.

“not anymore. hurts too bad to hear it. did you need something?” you quickly changed the subject.

“i want to talk to you,” he said. you nodded and walked in, telling him to follow you. george said hello to your brother and then followed you into the lounge where you two sat on the loveseat and you turned to face him.

you sat in a long silence as your eyes traced each other’s features. you memorized him. every line, every freckle, every bump, bruise, and blemish. the silence was deafening. untill he finally broke it. “what happened to your arm?” he murmured softly.

“it splinched when i apparated home. then i apparated again and made it worse,” you bit your lip softly.

“always so reckless,” he tutted softly, causing you to shrug.

“what’d you wanna talk about? know you didn’t come to talk about my arm…” you attempted to get to the point of his visit.

“right,” he murmured softly. “yn i…” he took a deep breath. “the day that i let you walk out of my life is the day that i made the worst mistake in the history of mistakes. i’ve done some stupid things in my life, but letting you walk away has by far been the stupidest. i’m so so sorry that i hurt you the way i did, i cannot express to you how sorry i am, i truly cannot. i love you, yn. with all of me i do, you have to believe me when i say that.”

“i do believe you george. i just don’t believe that you love me the way that i love you. and carrying around that pain is killing me. i mean absolutely destroying me. you live in my mind rent free. you’ve infested it,” you told him. “you with your stupid pretty smile and your god awful jokes and your ridiculous pranks that you somehow always rope me into and your perfect hair and your pretty eyes and just. you. george. stupid you. oblivious you. godric george,” you roughly shoved his chest. “i’ve loved you for years and you’ve always looked past me!” tears rimmed your bottom lash line and your voice cracked as you lashed out on him.

“for years george, i mean years! i’ve watched you fall in love with countless girls just to have your heart broken by them. i stuck by you through everything. even when you stopped being being my friend because it made angelina uncomfortable i waited for you george! and you just pushed me to the side. i did everything for you. i executed pranks for you. i planned pranks for you. i took the fall for you. i got detention for you! i did it all for you. i mean the countless amount of things i did just to be able to call you mine and i just… you didn’t care! you’ve never cared! you’ll never love me the way that i love you and that hurts. so. fucking. bad.” you wiped your eyes.

“it kills me george. it eats at me, every single day it does. i stood by your side and i took the blame with you even when i had nothing to do with the stupid shit you pulled at hogwarts because yeah i was going down, but hey, at least i was doing it with you, right? we made so much trouble and-and we used to laugh. and be happy. we were genuinely happy and i don’t know where we went wrong but we did, but i still say that i hate you with a smile on my face! i don’t get it george why don’t you love me!” a whimper tore itself from the depths of your chest as you let out a silent sob.

“now look what we’ve became…” he murmured, tears falling from your eyes.

“all the things i did just to call you mine… and… and all the things you said but… somehow, i still hope i was your favorite crime. cause merlin knows you were mine.” you sniffled as you wiped your eyes.

“you were mine. you’ll always be my favorite crime.” he leaned over and kissed your head as another silent sob racked your body. “now it’s bittersweet to think about the damage that we did,” he smiled over at you sadly. “i love you butterfly. just as much as you love me, if not more,” he whispered as he stood from his place.

you rolled your eyes water-logged eyes, but still managed to smile. “i wish you thought about that before,” you whispered.

“i do too… i guess i’ll have to just call you the one that got away then?” he asked.

“in another life georgie… i’d be your girl. and we’d keep every promise that we made,” you told him.

“and i wouldn’t have to say you were the one that got away,” you nodded as he kissed your head again. “i love you, butterfly. i always have.”

“i love you too, georgie. i always will,” you sniffled as you watched him walk out the door. you didn’t want this. you wanted to stop him. everything in your body screamed at you to stop him. but your brain wouldn’t work. your heart said no. you were scared of being hurt again.

you wanted to do something. yell at him. tell him to come back. to hug you. to never leave you. to never let you go. but your heart wouldn’t let you. you were frozen in time.

~~

it’ll all get better in time.

you’d heard the saying time and time again. especially after your parents passed away. it was people’s favorite line to use when they saw you. the truth is… you didn’t stop hurting. the pain didn’t go away. you just got used to it. but the pain you were feeling now… you didn’t know if it would ever go away. at least it didn’t feel like it.

two months. it had been two months since george walked out of your house that night. it was nobody’s fault but your own, and somehow you couldn’t help wishing he would’ve stayed.

you saw him everywhere. in the stars in the night sky. in the sunrise and the sunset. in coffee shops and store windows. even in your dreams when you slept. so logically, you decided to stop. if you didn’t sleep you couldn’t dream. and if you didn’t dream, you couldn’t see him.

you dutifully ignored the pain in your chest like an annoying bug on a picnic. you pretended that you were fine, but the reality was; you weren’t. but you played it off. and you were able to keep up your facade. untill one day… that one fateful day tucked in the corner at ninety three diagon alley. your brother asked you to pick up ten second pimple vanisher because he had a date tonight and just received a pimple the size of jupiter on his nose, causing him to look like “the muggle myth rudolph the red-nosed reindeer” as he put it.

you walked into the shop and kept your head down as you searched the aisles. it wasn’t where it usually was. you knew this shop like the back of your hand, of course you had… you’d worked there for nearly three years. you furrowed your brows as you looked around. the shop had completely transformed. nothing was in the place it usually was. that’s when your eyes landed there. on her. right at the front, behind the till at the register you worked, in the uniform you wore was angelina johnson.

you sighed deeply as you extended your neck around the corner to where the office was. you smiled triumphantly as you saw fred sitting at his desk and began your trek. you gently knocked twice on the opened door and fred called, “come in,” distractedly.

you walked in and sat on the desk, right in front of him, forcing him to look up at you. “yn!” fred exclaimed.

“hi freddie!” you smiled as a giggle escaped your lips and you returned the death-grip hug he had enveloped you in.

“what brings you by? not that i don’t love seeing your pretty face, of course,” he shot you a playfully flirtatious wink.

“ybn needs ten second pimple vanisher because he has a date tonight and he woke up with a pimple the size of jupiter on his nose,” fred laughed loudly at your remark. “i tried to look for it, but the stores completely turned around,” you pouted slightly.

“oh yeah, we changed some things up because we needed room for our new products. they’re still in the making, but george disappeared,” he hummed.

“george what?” you asked.

“you didn’t know…?” he asked you.

“no. i… i had no idea,” you stuttered.

“yeah. after the night he went to talk to you, he left a note on our kitchen counter and all his things were packed and he just… left. we haven’t seen or heard from him since. ‘s just been angie and i running the shop now. couldn’t do it alone,” fred explained as he picked up the box. “here you are l-“ before he could finish, you were halfway out the door. “YN WAIT!” he called. “YOU FORGOT YOUR PRODUCT!”

“SORRY FRED! YBN WILL BE OKAY I HAVE TO GO!” you called as you ran out the door as fast as your feet would carry you. if you knew george weasley… and you did… there was only one place he could be. and you prayed to any and every god that would listen that he was there. you prayed like your life depended on it that he was okay. you needed to fix this. to fix him. to make it alright.

in this moment you knew that he needed you. he needed you like peanut butter needs jelly. the way left needs right. like the sun needs the moon. he needed you like you needed him. you ran and ran and ran for miles untill you got to a secluded area. then you took a breath. and you apparated.

it was exactly the way you left it. a dingy old wooden box house sitting at the highest branch of a sycamore tree. you groaned softly as you began to climb the many branches. “george i swear to godric you better be in here,” you grumbled to yourself as you climbed.

it felt like hours—truly it was ten grueling minutes at most—untill you got to the door of the house. you whispered the password and it creaked open. “georgie,” you breathed when you saw him.

there he was. laying on the floor of the treehouse wrapped in blankets and a sleeping bag with a small pillow under his head. the apple to your pie. the straw to your berry. the smoke to your high. the one you knew you’d marry.

the one that got away. your twin flame.

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[bitsandbobsofwriting]

Hello my dear, i love you and your works with my whole heart💜 I was going through the updated list and I LOVED 45!!! I can't wait for it!!! A suggestion for it if you may, I would love the Reaper to be Freya. (ifuckinloveher) Just think about it, she's the Guardian of Avalon and she and Merlin have a certain connection. Since Merlin's a big deal she can be his personal Reaper. You can combine this with 21. So one day she comes to save the day and Lance freaks out you can't take Merlin now fair lady we will die w/o his help and he'll be alone when he comes back NO! I love love this aye just thinking about it makes me so happy!!!

No pressure ofc I am sure I would love it however you write!! Take care of yourself xx

(Referencing #8 (there is a new list with new numbers) from This List)

Unfortunately I've already got a whole ass plan written out for this!! It is a kinda cool idea, but the reaper in my head is some sorta badass Valkyrie type scary lady, armour and war paint and weapons, though maybe I'll try to fit Freya in anyway, because I do love her.

Merlin will see Reaper in the distance and just sorta "oop. Y'all stay here, gotta talk to my friend." He speaks to her, and apparently a particularly horrible death is coming and she's here to take him early if she's able, to save him the suffering. In the end he tells the others that she's a local he knows, and she's tagging along to point them in the right direction. Arthur protests but just gets ignored, Lance is staring at her like "oh my god it looks like the creepy ghost lady you describes who takes your... oh shit it is her." and Gwaine tries to flirt but immediately gets shot down. Maybe the lads take the piss a bit? Because Merlin has a lady friend? But then they're distracted by some disaster in which Merlin fuckin dies and then she does something weird and magic and wanders off with... Merlin's soul?? All "It'll take his body a while to heal from this, and me and Freya want to catch-up with him anyway. I'll be back in a few hours." Lance gives her an awkward thumbs up and covers Merlin's body with a sheet and then just starts... setting camp up, desperately trying to ignore everyone's confusion and/or crying.

Merlin eventually wakes up, cue immortal/magic reveal.

~

WOOHOO!!

[engenuity]

voldy minime and the gryffindor golden boy

A gryffindor!jay and slytherin!reader fic

word count: 2450 words

genre: fantasy

Your teachers and probably anyone who looks at you longer than a second think that you are the next Voldemort.

Well, you can’t really blame them because you have a lot of similarities with the former Dark Lord

A half-blood who was left with the muggles, sorted into Slytherin, full of charms and wit that is both astounding and terrifying

You put all the blame on Tom Riddle on why he had to be a Dark Lord out of all the possible career choices because now, even with all your charm and no matter how much you smile, everyone is just hesitant when it comes to you

It makes manipulating a lot more difficult than it should be and it sucks

You can remember how disbelieving you were when one man suddenly came before you and told you that you are a wizard and apparently, magic really does exist

It’s a prank — probably made by your friends who decided that it was a good time to make you look dumb and dreamy just because you’re way too serious, and “having fun won’t hurt you”

Turned out that the man wasn’t a fraud, and he is a professor in an institution called Hogwarts which you’ll now attend. Congratulations!

You still can’t believe that you get to have free magic education

If you were the next Voldy as everyone lowkey believes, you’ll also hold Hogwarts in a high regard like he did

But sorry to disappoint them, you don’t really want to conquer the world nor annihilate the muggles and muggleborns

Your mother is a muggle and you grew up in the muggle world for god’s sake

I mean, yeah, to live in the streets after your mother died wasn’t easy and some people really deserve to be avada kedavra’d but dark lord isn’t on the top of your career choices list right now or like ever

And you’re so not going to make horcruxes. You don’t fear death, you accept the whole concept of living and then dying wholeheartedly. What you fear is commitment.

So how do we make one Nishimura Riki to go away and pester someone else?

First year, after the sorting, this guy with aristocratic features immediately befriended you. Good thing you’re on the same house. He was the one to teach you most of the things that you needed in order to survive inside the house of the snakes. Apparently everyone knew that you are an illegitimate child, and your father came from a line of a highly regarded pureblood family, so you were a big scandal when you came into the wizarding world.

At first you were really suspicious of Ni-ki, but it turned out that he just really wanted to help you and he’s a big softie under all those piercing gazes

The hat sorted him into slytherin because he asked it to

He’s a vain to your existence because your greatest fear is to get attached but the boy is such a precious bean so you always have an internal conflict on whether to keep him or make him go away

But to think about your bestfriend having other friends kinda hurt

Except that’s exactly what happened when Taki from Hufflepuff easily passed through all the walls around Ni-ki and then he was adopted into K and Seon’s friend group

It’s comprised of wizards and witches from different houses so you really weren’t that worried that Ni-ki will face discrimination

Honestly, ever since Harry Potter ended the last wizarding war everyone’s putting more effort to treat all students equally regardless of their house

You were happy for Ni-ki, of course, because you see him having fun setting pranks among other things with them

Merlin, he even plays quidditch with them when you both already established that he can’t ride a broom even if his life depended on it

You tried teaching him, because, well, you’re one of slytherin’s beater and you’re good at quidditch

(Another point on why you can’t be a Voldemort wannabe)

Then one day, Ni-ki suddenly approached you after you exited the library and you can see his new friend group meters away from where you both stand

He invited you to a quidditch match, and who are you to say no?

You highkey want to prove that, well, you’re better than Ni-ki’s new friends and yes, you’re petty and jealous like that

Pretty sure you glared at everyone included in K and Seon’s little (big) friend group but they just look amused and it’s irritating

It’s not like Ni-ki comments or anything so it’s fine

Quidditch happened, and your team (aka you, sungchul, daniel, ej, heeseung, k and taeyong) won the game so you can’t help but wear a huge ass grin

You definitely proved the point you’re just proving to yourself, and well, you enjoyed aggressively hitting the bludgers to Jay from Gryffindor  

You enjoy the quiet yet the guy is just so LOUD every single time

And he clings to Ni-ki so much

You despise him, lowkey, just lowkey

Jake of Hufflepuff commented that you were out for Jay’s blood but is he wrong though

You didn’t miss the way Jungwon of Gryffindor glared at you though

After the match, you sorta also kind of got adopted to their friend group

You didn’t really notice it at first, but when you’re in classes without having Ni-ki with you, one of the guys sit beside you instead.

You find yourself gossiping with Jaebeom of Gryffindor and Sunoo of Ravenclaw in the library instead of doing your essays weeks in advance

That summer, Heeseung of Hufflepuff invited you to stay with them and you accepted the invitation. You didn’t regret it.

You also met with the other guys when you go shopping in the muggle or wizarding world, or when you go for dinner together, and  —

Going to the arcade was fun especially seeing Sunghoon, your housemate, who’s mostly calm and poised, lose his voice because of all the shouting he made while playing the vr

Jay also got mad scared but it’s the normal. He’s Jay after all.

You also went to an ice skating rink and Sunghoon is just so majestic

When Jungwon said that he’s better at skating than walking, he wasn’t lying

Sunghoon and Heeseung taught you how to skate. You suck at it, but well you can’t be good at everything. Can You-Know-Who even skate?

It was fun, they’re fun, you enjoy being with them so so much.

Now what happened to not getting attached?

The most unexpected was your friendship with Jay. How did it even happen?

You’re a hundred percent sure you wanted him dead during your first quidditch match. Now you found yourself running and throwing yourself to him when their team won the quidditch cup this year. The fact that they defeated your usually undefeated team went ignored.

A loud cough pulled you away from Jay (it was definitely Sunghoon’s) but you proceeded to ruffle Jeongseong’s sweaty hair anyway while giving him a very very bright smile you didn’t know you can do.

Why are you so proud of him anyway? He was that annoyingly loud guy within the friend group, a pureblooded gryffindor who acts first before thinking, thinks he’s funny when he’s not, had the patience to listen to your nonsensical existentialist ramblings, comforted you when you were having a breakdown about your grades, always shares his plans for the future and all of those plans include you, he includes you?

You still can’t remove Ni-ki’s affronted face matching Jay’s proud one when you helplessly giggle because of a joke the gryffindor made.

In your defense the joke is actually funny (other people says otherwise)

You find it easier to have fun, be happy, when you’re around them, especially when you’re around Jay.

It wasn’t your observation, you see, it was Ni-ki’s. He confronted you about it and that’s how you became more aware of your feelings. It’s all good though, Jay’s just your friend, or best friend? depends on how you categorize or think of the people within the group

Besides, the fear is still there

Except the observation wasn’t solely noted by your first best friend. Sunoo and Jaebeom can tease you with just using Jeongseong’s name. K and Seon sometimes give you advice about love and courting at random times. Taki and Ni-ki literally pushes you to him whenever you meet. Jake and Sunghoon give subtle hints around that you think you’re supposed to remember such as Jay likes sweet things — He likes watching anime, you know what that is right? It’s really weird for a pureblood to know about those muggle things but his aunt is a muggleborn so I think that’s the reason why —Jay’s like a puppy isn’t he? — That Park Jeongseong is still angry at Heesung hyung because he gets to have you the whole summer last year —

Are you crushing on him? Or is this just an attraction you can easily recover from? Or are you feeling this way because of how your friends always tease you?

You have no idea, lol.

And as much as those romance novels you borrowed from Hanbin shows that whenever the main character gets confused, they avoid the other person, you didn’t avoid Jay because well, that would be stupid

But if he ever really do confess to you just like what Jungwon suspects, you’re gonna ride a broom and zoom out of the castle real quick, and probably build a following and actually just be the next dark lord because that’s easier than dealing with feelings

Especially if those feelings involve absolute pure softness to a guy who just used only his arms to crawl on the floor

“That’s the dance step, he’s not high or anything”  — Seon, explaining, because he probably feared the way you see Jay will change after what he did

But again those feelings involve absolute pure softness and you didn’t really think before saying “aww, he’s cute”  as a reply

Seon looked at you surprised. K, Ni-ki, Daniel, and Nicholas wear huge grins on their faces. Geonu looks so horrified by the statement. Sunghoon snorted, Sunoo rolled his eyes while wearing a knowing smirk, and Jake patted your shoulders. You’re still processing what really happened.

Jay, now walking, came closer to the group and asked why you look so horrified

Of course, you composed yourself aka wore the resting face Ni-ki and Sunghoon taught you, and said “nothing” while the rest of the group snickers

Jay just snorted and put his arms around your shoulders. It’s time for dinner after all.

The thing is, a lot of people are already asking around whether you and the golden boy of Gryffindor are dating. That includes the group and most of all Jay, who just answers those type of question with a bright smile.

They can’t ask you directly because most students and professors are still scared of you. If not scared, intimidated then.

But if ever anyone dares to ask you, you’ll say that no, you’re not dating Jeongseong. It’s the truth anyway. You’re close, and you’re most fond of him ( sorry Ni-ki, I still love you ) but you’re just friends, nothing more.

Then the Hogsmeade incident happened

It’s already a tradition that the whole group visits the village together. Sometimes you separate into groups, but most of the time the whole 24 of you go together. And isn’t that a sight?

Except this time a certain group of slytherins by the looks of their tie, decided that it’s fun to go back to their nasty old ways and insult other people just because of their blood status.

According to them, K’s embarrassing the whole pureblood community by allowing mudbloods to join the group

But to you, they’re just jealous because the group’s quiet really popular, hah

Unfortunately things got really heated and suddenly there’s a whole lot of shouting and shoving around

Thank Merlin, they confiscate your wands before allowing you to venture outside the school property

Jay, no mater how loud and crazy he gets, isn’t really one to fight. So as he was trying to reach out to the opposite and probably suggest peace, someone pushed him in his chest hard enough that he collided with Jake behind him.

You didn’t see red, no, you’re not that kind of person

You were a hundred percent sane when you stepped forward and faced the senior who just pushed jay, gave him the most lethal smile you can give that could have certainly make him pee in his pants, only that he didn’t even have the time for that as you punched him square in the face

Years as a street dweller and as a thief ought to teach you skills.

The fight quietened and your pretty sure your friends are staring at you in disbelief. The accomplices of the guy you just punched look so red with either embarrassment or anger, you really can’t tell.

Your memory failed you this time. You can’t really recall everything you said and did but you’re pretty sure you said a lot of insults, and threw a whole lot of punches and kicks, and what else did you do?

But now you found yourself sitting in the Slytherin common room surrounded by everyone with Jay kneeling in front of you and dressing your wounds.

You didn’t even notice how your hands are hurting, or that they’re bleeding. However, you’re a hundred-percent sure those guys from a while ago have bleeding faces or something which is fun

No one spoke for a while.

Until Jay went on an hour long rant about how you’re so reckless, that you should’ve kept your cool and didn’t physically fight the bigots, then it went on how you’re so amazing, and where did you learn how to fight like that?

Yes, you did notice how you’re sitting there facing the ranting guy while wearing a foolish and fond smile even though the said guy’s one half ranting and another half insulting you. You didn’t stop smiling anyway.

The fear of committing, of loving, of being attached is still there. You decided to be brave anyway. After all, if it’s for your friends, then you can dare.

And if said fear runs deeper when it comes to a certain Gryffindor, you decide to even be braver everyday then.

If it means you get to keep him.

The definite line separating romantic from platonic love is already way too blurry between the both of you, and if Jay won’t ask you out first, then it is also practical to do it first for the both of you.

[bard-llama]

I know the ask game is probably over, but I had to tap out to get up for work this morning, so I hope you don’t mind one more question: would you ever consider writing and publishing original fiction sometime?

It's never over!!! Feel free to send me asks any time!

And yes, definitely! One thing I am actively working on is "converting" fics to original fiction (which is fucking hard and exhausting ugh. So much exposition needed!) so that I can sell them on Amazon. I have my own author's page, look!!

(A side note: the reason the above is legal is because I remove all traces of the Witcher world from it. Monetizing fanfiction itself is NOT legal and actually very dangerous to the community, because lawyers WILL come after you. Remember Anne Rice.)

But aside from that, yes, I definitely have some original pieces in the works! Specifically, Arthurian Legends are my first love and I have a modern reincarnation AU (sorta) in the works! But admittedly, I am... still missing a cohesive plot lmao. I also have a WiP where I take T.H. White's awful Sword in the Stone canon and apply real life consequences to it! By which I mean, if Arthur grew up as an orphan working as a squire for Sir Kay and he's suddenly King? Oh my GOD is he going to have a hard time! He would need to make alliances with a LOT of nobles very fast or they would overthrow him, honestly. So I think that's fun to explore! But also, I despise T.H. White for... many reasons, not least of which is "wtf is Merlin aging backwards through time!? that makes no fucking sense!!!!" Oh also, because Arthur grew up as a street rat, he's got friends and contacts who are the "trash of society" and I will somehow make them save the day lol.

But uh, anyway. The modern Arthurian novel is my main original piece. It features crazy old man Merlin who has lived all this time and is fucking BONKERS from it, Morgana who gets migraines because she sees magic, but her brain doesn't know how to interpret it, and trans!Arthur who is just here to have a good time and maybe fight some monsters. TBH it's a lot more concept than words on a page at this point, but here's a few lil bits:

“Arthur? Seriously? What, do you want to be a king when you grow up?”

“Come on, my last name is Pendragon! How could I pass up the opportunity? It was too perfect!” Arthur grinned, “I’m thinking of changing my profile pic to me with a Burger King crown.”

And then later, when they meet Merlin:

“So, what, do you just go seeking people with names from your legends? ‘Cause I hate to tell you, but I wasn’t born Arthur Pendragon. When I transitioned… I mean, my last name’s Pendragon. How could I resist?”

“Actually, I seek out people saturated with magic. Morgana, and yourself to a lesser extent, are surrounded by magic.”

But yeah, I'm totally down to write original stuff! But even with that, I end up using public domain characters lmao.

Oh, actually, I have 2 original pieces up on AO3! They are Arthurian Legends and are written as oral storytelling pieces, because I adore storytelling and everything about stories tbh. They're just kinda magical!

Anyway, please feel free to send me asks any time!! I always love receiving them!

[whumptywhumpdump]

1, 14, and 18? For the ask game

Parni! Thank you!

1. What are 4 tabs that you have open on your browser right now? Ok, I have 8 tabs currently open and, among them: the 7th chapter of an 8 chapter long TOG fic that's really nice, but I can't seem to finish, a 65k long TOG fic I've been meaning to read for about three months, but can't commit to right now, a 207k long Merlin fic I already read twice and I'm sorta considering reading again, and a Google search of Starbucks' coffee blends

14. Introvert or extrovert? Biiiiiiig introvert

18. Biggest mistake you’ve ever made? I honest to God have no idea... I don't really have huge regrets, even stuff I kinda fucked up were the best I could do at the time

From this ask game

[sunflowers-and-snowdrops]

ramble about your favourite fic?

oh! that’s a wild ride i have so many. im reading like 2 long form fics atm, 1 is currently being updates and one is already finished. they are so well written and just wow!! but if i have to say my ultimate favourite fic at the moment then it would be The Serving Of Servants by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle on AO3 and its sequel which is just INCREDIBLY GOOD. like??? ahhhh!!! the writing is great, the description is amazing, the characterization is done so well and the OCs are awesome characters, and ITS A SLOW BURN. The plot is super interesting and its brilliant. so if i had to choose then that would be my current absolute favourite fic. (Okay so this is a really long post so... well this a warning i guess)

There’s a bunch of other ones that are great so i’ll talk about those as well. did i mention CaffeinatedFlumadiddle??? their fics are just SO GOOD. like??? Salt of the Forsaken?? that was hilarious!! Exceptionally Exceptional??? that was a brilliant fic and i love that they focused on hunith because we didnt really see her that much on the show and this fic just makes up for that perfectly. Hunting For Dignity?? Cheers and Spirits??? YES. OH i cant forget Fool Me Once which is actually a really cool concept to explore imo. basically Uther isn’t a huge asshole in this one?? i mean he still kinda is but like its just chaotic and the relationship between uther and merlin is kinda odd because he keeps trying to find out ways to kill him and merlin is just done because he cant die and is immortal. i guess they sort of bond over that and wanting to keep arthur safe and like its a strange relationship but im living for it.

Usually uther is awful in practically all the fics ive read but there are some which sort of like make him kinda good?? like?? i mean hes still an asshole just less of it. like in About Merlin... (by LadyAuroraPendragon on AO3) Uther is still an asshole and hes against magic but like??? he ships them??? ahahhaha and everyone does too. its such a great fic. we got a wingman uther in there. A WINGMAN UTHER. uthers all like “why are so bad at flirting/courting? just tell him that you love him already JEEZ” and the funniest thing is that he thinks they’re together because of that scene in the black knight episode where merlin says that they have a bond and then he assumes that they are together and LITERALLY nothing can convince him that they are not together and its great lmao. 

Okay so ive been rambling for a veryyyy long time so I’ll just say two last things and finish off ahahha. On AO3 there’s another fic writer that I absolutely ADORE. their name is AeonTheDimensionalGirl and my goddd their fics are BEAUTFUL. LIKE??? THE WAY THEY USE THE WORD CARIAD?? OH MY GOD ITS JUST PERFECT. Their whumptober series is excellent and they use the word “cariad” which means love in welsh and its just SO amazing and heartfelt and ahhhhh. Some of my favourites include Watch you breathe in, watch you breathe out which is a fic based on the ep “servant of two masters” and how it would have switched, like instead of merlin being possessed or bewitched by the nathair, it was arthur who was trying to kill him and its just so good. super angsty but it has a happy ending that makes my heart melt.

The fic?? Off the record??? is just??? PERFECT? i absolutely love that it was from Leon’s pov that was a really interesting way of viewing it and i LOVED the hc that arthur sorta has some kind of magic (bc he was born out of magic) but it ONLY appears when merlin is fatally injured/dying and hsajdbjsbhudhbedb i thought it was great omg. Another fic written by them called Looking After You had such a good enemies to friends to lovers arc like *chefs kiss*. I also really enjoyed To Worship the Powerful (and destroy the weak), Uther’s Bane, and Et Tu, Merlin? because they were such good whumptober fics. 

did i say two last things??? okay i lied, it was three. anyways, last but not least (because i gotta stop rambling or this post will extremely long) the fics Chains Of Secrets and I suppose that I look different (without the robes or crown) are some of favourites because in chains of secrets its what would have happened if uther said that merlin had magic (if he wasnt cut off or IF ARTHUR ACTUALLY HEARD WHAT HE SAID AND DEDUCED IT FROM THAT) anyways i think its a great magic reveal fic, set in one of my favourite episodes “the death song of uther pendragon” so i think its just neat. 

hilariously, the fic  I suppose that I look different (without the robes or crown) is also based on that episode. i have a fondness for it okay? Its basically where Arthur blows the horn of cathbdhah again but gets transported to another world where Ygraine never died and ITS JUST SO BEAUTIFUL. LIKE THE DESCRIPTIONS??? THE CHARACTERS?? its amazing and i reread it alot. anyways arthur goes into that world and he has to find a way back to his own. in the fic balinor lives, lancelot and gwen had a KID. oh and merlin was a ROYAL which was just awesome. all in all its a great fic :D

So that is the end, or i will literally go on forever. sorry this is such a long answer ahaha, i really tried to make it shorter but just gave up in the end. I hope you enjoyed that?? i did and i thank you anon, for letting me ramble! If anyone wants to read the fics ive mentioned, then you can find the links below! enjoy :D

The Serving Of Servants by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle

Salt Of The Forsaken by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle

Exceptionally Exceptional by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle

Hunting For Dignity by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle

Cheers and Spirits by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle

Fool Me Once by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle

About Merlin... by LadyAuroraPendragon

Watch You Breathe In, Watch You Breathe Out by AeonTheDimensionalGirl

Off the Record by AeonTheDimensionalGirl

Looking After You by AeonTheDimensionalGirl

To Worship the Powerful (And Destroy the Weak) by AeonTheDimensionalGirl

Uther’s Bane by AeonTheDimensionalGirl

Et Tu, Merlin? by AeonTheDimensionalGirl

Merlin’s Knight by AeonTheDimensionalGirl

Chains Of Secrets by magicdoses

I suppose that I look different (without the robes or crown) by WingedWolf121

For Want Of A Nail by ohHeyThereBigBadWolf                      

(I didn’t manage to talk about For Want Of A Nail or Merlin’s Knight but i think that they are both amazingly well written fics so im recommending it anyways.)

[smarti-at-smogwarts]

Names for all of them please!

YAY

Okay

HPHM 

Marta Beatrice Venturi

For Marti -as well as her siblings- I sorta took a lot of inspo from the tv show  Life With Derek. So her first name and last name come from there. ( as well as her siblings sans Jacob ) since while I was thinking about starting the game I had also been talking with a friend about how the show was a big comfort as a kid. Although the characters have become more or less my own as I write for them ( in my head lmao)  and play the game, I kept the names. 

I did look up what Marti could be short for tho and came up with Marta 

Marta: is a name that that is the form of MARTHA used in various languages. 

Meaning: From research the meaning behind the name is  (Latin from Ancient Greek Μάρθα, from Aramaic מרתא (martā) "the mistress" or "the lady", from מרה "mistress", feminine of מרי "master").

Beatrice is the middle name I picked for her. I knew I wanted the name to be of English origin as when I looked up the name Marta it told me that that was it’s origin. I was trying out different names and really liked how Marta Beatrice sounded together.

Meaning: The meaning also sold me though as it’s   a name derived from the French name Béatrice, which came from the Latin Beatrix, which means "she who makes happy" or ‘’Bringer of joys and blessings’’ Since I see Marti as a fairly cheerful kid I really liked it and thought it fit.

Venturi is an Italian name which I also took from LWD.

Meaning:  It’s meaning however    comes from the Italian "bonaventura," meaning "good luck" or "good fortune." which I find really freakin ironic considering Jacob and his family’s story with the plot of the game and I kinda really like that tbh. 

HPHL

Theodosia Jane Abott: 

Theodosia: For Theo I wanted a name that was unisex/androgynous. I sorta picked her face claim because I had always seen Jo March from Little Women as genderqueer. I had the name Ted/Teddy stuck in my head and kept thinking of names that sounded similar.( theodore...theo..) Finally I landed on Theodosia. Partly because I was stim singing Hamilton. 

While Theodosia isn’t an unisex name it did lent itself to a nickname so I was happy.

Meaning  The name Theodosia means Divine Gift and is of Greek origin.

Jane I got from Jane Austen just because the period of time game took place in had me thinking of her. I do like how it contradicts Theodosia in it being short and more simple tho. 

Meaning:  The name Jane means God Is Gracious and is of English origin.

Abott: I wanted her to be a pureblood but also not pick a super known last name though I did toy with the idea of naming her Black ( i might change it between now and future game updates but for now Abott she remains)

Meaning:  English and Scottish: from Middle English abbott 'abbot' (Old English abbod) or Old French abet 'priest'. Both the Old English and the Old French term are derived from Late Latin abbas 'priest' (genitive abbatis), from Greek abbas, from Aramaic aba 'father'.

Tatiana Aguillard-Ambrose

Tatiana: I picked Tatiana’s first name as a callback to one of Nina Dorev’s roles in Vampire Diaries ( Tatia) 

Meaning :  Tatiana is a female name of Sabine and Latin origin, a feminine derivative of the Sabine-Latin name Tatius. Titus Tatius was the name of a king of the Sabines, an Italic tribe living near Rome, presumably from the 8th to the 1st century BC.

Her last names I picked going from the fact that I wanted her to have a french surname ( as I conceptualized her as having french and Russian lineage) 

Aguillard: I picked the name Aguillard because I liked the sound of it

Meaning:  metonymic occupational name for a needle maker from Old French aguillard, a variant (with a change of suffix) of aguillier, from a(i)guille ��needle’

Ambrose I  also liked the name. In particular because it reminded me of Merlin from an old rp where Merlin’s descendant had that last name.

Meaning: its of greek origin and means Inmortal. 

HPHM/HPMA/HPHL Asks

[mervinamoonishere]

Courage

It's valentine's day at Hogwarts. And Rowan is very nervous.

In her hands, she holds what must be the most important piece of paper she has ever had to carry; except for maybe, her potions class notes that she almost forgot to review right before a test so she had to pick them up from class to her dorm and it was stressful and not relevant right now.

She's walking through the corridors with no real path, looking like quite the fool and feeling quite foolish whenever she'd peek through another corridor or an ajar door, or anywhere where a human could fit because truth be told she was looking for a human. A certain fair-haired girl with slanted gold eyes. Sorta hard to miss but Rowan's not a good thrower so she misses every damn time.

Mervina Moon is nowhere to be found. Rowan's been wandering the school like a lost puppy looking for her owner; which is a quite terrible metaphor, Mervina would never treat her like an animal but alas her mind isn't wired correctly today, no time to tire herself in trying to find 'perfect metaphors' for her current situations.

So, she's holding a card on valentine's day and she's searching for somebody. She's confessing feelings for somebody. The somebody is Mervina.

And Merlin's beard, she's nervous! So horribly nervous that the sound of shaking paper is slowly driving her mad but she can't will her hands to stop quivering.

Oh god, why did she think this was a good idea? Well, she's got no clue! Her brain hasn't been quite the same after Mervina's, well, sudden existence; she's lost sense, she's losing focus in class, she's always making tea now! She didn't do that before. She doesn't even like tea that much, it's Mervina that does.

In the middle of the dungeons' main corridor, she halts rather dramatically. She questions, 'Can you blame yourself, Rowan?'

It's sorta hard to not admire Mervina's calm nature, especially when Merula (quite childishly, might she add) confronted her all those years ago and all Merv did was alleviate the situation, to throw water into the fire to try to extinguish it. And right after, in potions class, oh how lost she was! She felt like she didn't understand much with Snape's glare-y attitude (and the whole bulbadox powder incident). All it took was a simple glance at Rowan and Mervina was already on her tail, discussing the techniques and answering all of Rowan's 27 questions - yes she counted - with a smile and patience.

She would always push Rowan behind her with an arm outstretched, protecting her from Merula, Peeves, literally any vaguely menacing magical creature, a falling student that one time (she did feel bad that her first instinct was to push Rowan away rather than helping the poor guy but Rowan just kind had a heart attack for completely platonic reasons).

And in year 3, when Rowan felt so left out and worthless compared to Mervina's new friends, everything fixed itself just as soon as it started because Mervina is ridiculously in tune with emotions, and if it weren't for Mervina's unshed tears, this wouldn't even be happening and not even friends they could be called.

Plus, how could Rowan forget all the stupid stuff Merv does. Mocking Snape right in his class, badly, even making Merula lose her composure. That one time Rowan had her wet hair all over her face, making her look, and she quotes 'Like a bloody Bloody Mary, Rowan! What the fuck, I almost peed myself- Stop laughing!'. That's her personal favorite, she's never forgetting that one.

Their everyday hugs. They're just... perfect. And warm.

Also that time they almost kissed in flying class. That was- yeah. She just lost balance when Merv came to her and they kinda sorta almost bumped heads and kissed. Yeah. That happened.

She's beet red by the time she's close to the courtyard, and she hugs her little card closer to her chest, her heart parkouring all over her ribcage like an emotionally traumatized teenager, with parental issues, that just needs a hobby to get away from their toxic domestic environments. Mervina has her version of rambling and Rowan always listens and she almost tripped on a ridiculously small rock, honestly, she should watch where she's going instead of talking to herself about Mervina and not talk to her about her. 

Ah yes, eloquence.

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

If it had been any other day of the year, she'd be the laugh of the school. Luckily it's valentine's day, so carrying around a bouquet doesn't look as outrageous as it should.

Mervina had thought long and hard about this. Rowan has always been easier to get close to, she's affectionate, caring, and just lovely. Merula is very different. She couldn't even begin to think about giving Merula anything on valentine's day. She settled on just being friendly and hoping she'd get the hint. She's still not sure if she did but she looked embarrassed enough, so. She must've gotten something. 

Now, Rowan, she knew what to get. Flowers were always a favorite of Rowan, being a huge nerd of their meanings and such. It's perfect! She didn't even spend hours researching flower meanings and avoiding roses like the plague since Rowan doesn't like them, losing countless hours and money buying them only to then worry about them rotting when the day did come.

Was it worth it? Well, she doesn't know. The flowers are cute and all but if Rowan doesn't reciprocate her feelings then... what was she going to do?

It didn't help that everybody kept pairing up Merv with her two crushes. With Rowan is 'You guys are so cute!' and with Merula is 'Your chemistry is ridiculous!' and it would worsen whenever they'd hear them; Rowan got so embarrassed Merv feared she was uncomfortable, and Merula got so angry she feared there was no chemistry at all, just hate.

So, it poses the question: 'Does Rowan like her back, or are they just friends? Does she blush because she's flustered or incredibly embarrassed?'

For such a colorful bouquet, Merv did look like a storming cloud walking around the training grounds. She's never felt so lost, not in this sense anyway.

It's just- Rowan's so friendly, always so kind. She's a true friend, through and through. Right from the start, no matter what acclaimed weirdness she always talked about, Rowan's so easy to talk to and so eager. She's smart, stupid smart. Trouble with words? Ask Rowan, she sure will know something. Problem in charms class? Or maybe transfiguration? Well, guess what? Rowan Khanna exists! Thank goodness for that.

Her tie's always messy, no matter how many times she's taught Rowan how to do it. And when she's excited she flails her arms around, her robe sleeves flapping everywhere.

Oh and that time they almost kissed during flying class. Rowan never mentions it. Merv's too cowardly to do it either. It just sits there, like a big smug elephant in the room.

By the time she reaches the courtyard, it's sunset, which is stupidly romantic and as Mervina turns around to leave she spots familiar dark locks.

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

By this time, they're in their fourth year. They're not adults in any way but they're not children either. Still, the moment they even get a glimpse of each other, they hide their presents behind their backs, a comical action, almost cartoonish. Both girls looked like startled stoats, eyes like saucers. Only the birds broke the silence, and the fountain of the courtyard gave a pleasant sound to the atmosphere.

A minute passes and they open their mouths.

"Alright, I have something for you-"

"Fancy seeing you here, because-"

Oops. Not expecting that. How awkward. "Rowan, you can-"

"Please go first-"

They trade sighs before Mervina wears the pants. "We'll both do it on three, 'kay?" With Rowan's nod (albeit she's shaking all over), Merv counts down.

three, two, one

There are sounds of shuffling, neither of the girls really knowing of what since both idiots have their eyes closed. They open their eyes and process what's in front of them. Rowan's little pink card; Mervina's vibrant bouquet. Amidst their stupidness, they flush and laugh their asses off until their bellies ache. Oh, how embarrassing. What was there to worry about? Nothing! All that fussing for nothing.

The gifts switch places. Rowan's card is rosy, with lots of scribbled hearts and scratched out words because Rowan's rambling extends to her writing too; and Mervina's flowers were an odd bunch, but beautiful, with peonies, gilliflowers, buttercups, gerbera daisies, carnations, and sunflowers, Rowan's favorite flower.

Warmth weights on their chests for a while, admiring their presents like rare jewels. (Ugh, lovesick fools.)

With some courage, Rowan stands on her tippy toes and plants a peck on Mervina's cheek. Which was unexpected, and all Merv can do is hide behind her little card, red as a tomato until she breaks out laughing, Rowan not too far behind.

~~~~~~~~~~

Just finished it. This has been sitting on my drafts for a wEEK. Welp enjoy it cause it’s cute

[writersmacchiato]

Guide to Medici

Medici: Masters of Florence is a tv show that airs on Netflix. There are two seasons but to save time I’ll only be going over the second season.

@staygoldponebone this started out serious but then it became utter crack sorry bby

Background:

The Medici are a wealthy family in Italy, Florence that have “ruled” for much of the 14-17th century

They hold a lot of influence.

The show picks up with Lorenzo de Medici, the son of Piero de’ Medici (mentioned in the first season)

Piero falls ill after an attack on his life and grows worse as the stress of his family’s apparent bankruptcy wears on him

In a bid to save the city and his family, Piero calls in an old debt. The Duke of Milan is offered the city to ravage and in return, his father’s debt is payed off.

Piero wyd 😔

Lorenzo has to make the decision of saving Florence or betraying his father by becoming the new head of the Medici.

Anyway, I gotta really into this, whoops. The show picks up from there and shows Lorenzo’s struggles to keep the power of his family as enemies try to seize it.

Major Characters

Lorenzo de’ Medici

The eldest son of Piero, groomed from a young age (particularly by his Grandmother) to take over and lead the Medici

Would be known as Lorenzo the Magnificent for his work as a diplomat, politician, and also a patron of the arts. He is known for much more but that’s a lot to unpack.

In the show, Lorenzo is a very charismatic man. His greatest weapon is his words.

Daniel Sharman is the actor who plays him, and this is very irrelevant information but he also plays Isaac Lahey in Teen Wolf. Okay, now that that’s out of my system, moving on.

So, interestingly enough, while Lorenzo has been expected to take over the Medici bank when he got older — he has a great interest in “worldly” things.

My rating: 8/10 (Daniel Sharman is the basis for this, but also like Lorenzo’s personality is bomb but he’s a politician :/)

Jacopo de’ Pazzi

UGH. *eye roll emoji* HE RUINS EVERYTHING

So, there is a little tension between the Medici and Pazzi families because they’re both powerful and influential but it gets worse when Jacopo becomes the head of Pazzi.

He’s a jerk. Total, utter, douchebag.

Just watch the show...I can’t say anything more without spoiling and also I’m done talking about him.

My rating: -100293920/0/09229/10

Francesco de’ Pazzi

The eldest son of the Pazzi family, Jacopo is his uncle.

He’s kinda bad, morally gray, and like he commits murder.

SO

like I shouldn’t love him as much as I do

but his hair...is so nice

and his smile?

My rating: 7/10 (his hair is like amazing, but he does commit murder so :/)

Giuliano de’ Medici

Fellows! This is not your King Arthur from Merlin BBC 😤 so banish all memories of that man or you will be in for a shock (like I was)

Giuliano is the younger brother of Lorenzo and just sorta does what he wants, perks of being the middle child smh

He’s a bit of a hothead 🥵 (think season one of Merlin)

Tragically there is no Merlin alongside him but he does have Botticelli (Yes, the Botticelli!) and I can’t help but think of him as Merlin (oh my god, Merlin following Arthur as reincarnates over & over)

My rating: 6.5/10 (only because he looks like King Arthur and I love Merlin BBC, otherwise he’s just meh)

Bianca de’ Medici

Bianca is kinda the only Medici sibling that I truly love with all my heart

She just wants to be with her true love, Guglielmo de’ Pazzi.

That’s right.

PAZZI

It’s a forbidden love, although at one point they were betrothed to each other (but that changed with Jacopo ugh)

She doesn’t take shit from anyone and puts Lorenzo back in his place when no one else will, I love and respect her

My rating: 10/10

Last Notes:

It’s a historical drama, so if you’re into history at all then I would recommend watching this! For me personally, I love art especially and its history specifically. So, watching this and seeing Florence in the middle of the Renaissance?? Oh my god, amazing.

It does have attractive actors/actresses, so plenty of appeal there *wink wink*

The theme song is so good, I just thought of it but I love it

Oh, and there are only 8 episodes that are around an hour long — so it’s easy to binge watch!