#perhaps excalibur can

[captainfairygodmother]

Well now I need OP's opinions on the Immortal Sir Leon theory

on the topic of widely accepted fandom headcanons that aren’t actually canon i have to be so annoying here but immortal merlin is not canon... i admit the theory has relatively strong supporting arguments in the show like his near death experiences that arguably could be interpreted as him dying and coming back alive or his name “emrys” or the fact that in the finale he was shown to still be alive in the present day. But none of this confirms his immortality at all.

- he is a very powerful magical being and is very hard to kill, yet so are many other powerful magical creatures in the show, as well as the high priestesses, and they were all still ultimately killable. even in the mortaeus poison episode where his heart briefly stopped, it didn’t stop long enough for him to definitively be dead; real people in real life without magic have gone longer without a heartbeat and still survived… the best argument for his immortality is maybe him surviving the dorocha’s touch when gaius said no mortal man could, but even that isn’t definitive proof, bc emrys’ power is unprecedented and he could very well be the first and only mortal to ever survive the dorocha’s touch, he is after all the exception to so many rules. it proves that he is harder to kill than anyone else, due to his powerful magic protecting him, but not that he is unable to die.

- he canonically grows very very old but this too can be attributed to his abundance of magic. nimueh grew unnaturally old too.

- his name “emrys” meaning immortal also doesn’t prove anything as this usually isn’t interpreted so literally in the legends. it’s usually understood as his legacy staying alive forever through tales of his power and influence…

and as for my personal reasons for being kind of opposed to this immortal merlin theory. it’s first of all mostly the fact that it really just cheapens everything he goes through in the show lol. his own survival despite the dangers he faces is due to his determination to stay alive to fulfill his destiny, it’s thanks to his own stubborn perseverance and skill and yes, often luck. but not his literal inability to die. i feel like this theory really devalues his extreme struggle and the fact that he really was on the brink of death sometimes…

it’s infinitely more compelling to me that he’s ultimately still a mortal man. i prefer to think of his continued survival as hard-earned, and as a genuine wonder! he could have genuinely died so many times but he didn’t and he deserves most of the credit for it!

and on top of that, the complete inability to die is so deeply fucking depressing? never being able to die? i love a good tragic story but him outliving everyone else and staying behind alone (which is canon) is heartbreaking enough, i feel like the least i could do is allow him to die and rest at Some point…

so basically to me he’s only immortal in the sense that old age probably won’t kill him, but mortal in the sense that other things could. if not regular means then definitely excalibur.

[sugar-coated-prat-dragon]

Title: Merlin is so powerful he can slow down time without even realizing it

@tansyuduri @thenerdyalien @samwinjester @cereamicwastelands @himegimiki

- Merlin slowed down during the Black Knight episode and didn’t even realize it. Which is why he was the only one to see Sir Owain stab the knight.

- Merlin used this ability again when the assassin Myror tried to use a spiked lance to stab Arthur during the joust.

- Merlin also likely used it a third time… when he followed Aulfric Tirmawr to the lake of Avalon and allowed his magic to slow down time so he could see the fast moving Sidhe.

One of the things that I find most interesting about this ability and it’s not talked about enough in the fandom… is the different ways in which Merlin can slow down time without a spell.

Most people would think of Merlin slowing down time in the pilot episode, when he slowed Gaius’s descent from the railing after his fall or perhaps when he slowed down the blade thrown at Arthur?

But those are only the beginning.

In the episode, “Excalibur” Merlin accidentally slowed down time during the fight between Sir Owain and the Black knight without even realizing it. He didn’t know he’d done it, until he realized no one had seen the fatal stab wound except him.

In the episode, “The Once and Future Queen” Merlin lets out his magic sweep across the arena and slowed down time in order to see the assassins lance with the deadly spike that slides out.

Yet, on both occasions, no one realized time had slowed.

Even when Merlin slowed down time near the lake of Avalon, the Sidhe (some of the most powerful magical creatures) didn’t sense any change and never suspected his presence.

That’s extremely powerful.

Pages from the book, “Sword and Sorcery”

As Merlin watched, the young knight seized his chance. 'One well-aimed blow!' Arthur called from the stands, and there it was - Owain ran his sword through the Black Knight's chest.

Merlin cheered. But to his amazement, no one else took up the cry. What was wrong?

Hadn't they seen what had happened? And why hadn't the Black Knight fallen?

'Should we tend to his wounds?' Merlin said to Gaius as the Black Knight passed them. It wasn't that he cared if the knight was hurt - but it was part of the rules.

Gaius looked surprised, though. 'Owain didn't land a blow?

'He did, Merlin insisted. 'I saw it - Owain's sword definitely pierced him' He wondered then if he had only seen the blow because of his magical abilities - for him, time could slow down. Usually it was deliberate and he could control it, but perhaps as he had been concentrating so hard it had happened all by itself. Anyway, he knew that he hadn't imagined it.

Pages from the book, “The Sorcerers Curse”

Merlin let the power climb inside him, filling him with fire. The heat rose behind his eyes, giving them a golden glow. Everything slowed as the magic swept across the arena. He saw the spike slide out of the end of the assassin's lance.

Time returned to normal for Merlin. He hurried over to Arthur, catching the prince as he almost fell off his horse, and together they staggered towards the tent.

[onpointedfeetandbrokendreams]

Day 2 - Painland Week

Day 2 of Painland Week 2024: August 5th - August 11th by @painlandweek

Prompt: Myths / Legends

Tags:  Post-canon, Case-fic

TW: None

Edwin stopped writing mid-word - which, in hindsight, should have been the first evidence that something was wrong, if Charles hadn’t been distracted - and he asked:

“Sorry, wait a tick, you said you are trying to retrieve a lost sword from a lake, and the sword’s name is?” 

“Excalibur, yes,” finished the client.

Edwin tapped the pen over his notebook twice, not even pretending to go back to taking notes - second evidence - and threw the universal ‘closet, now’ look at Charles. For his part, Charles had been listening to the conversation like it was something happening inside a bubble, or on the television, something he wasn’t a part of. His brain had been stuck on a very different train of thought ever since the client entered their office, because the first thing Charles’ mind supplied him with was ‘wow, he’s hot,’ immediately followed by ‘uh, that’s new, since when do I find random boys hot’ and ‘wait, does that mean I can finally be not straight and return Edwin’s feelings?’ - all in all, very confusing thoughts to have in the middle of a potential case.

He did follow Edwin to the closet, though, because it was muscle memory to follow Edwin anywhere without question.

“So what do you think?” Edwin asked, “a curse?”

“It could be, if the missing sword is cursed that would explain why he can’t find it in the lake,” Charles replied, trying to cut through the haze enough to form a sensible thought.

Edwin raised his eyebrows in confusion. It was unusual for them to not be on the same wavelength, they rarely needed to explain themselves further during conversations on almost any topic. It made Charles feel like he had failed some kind of test. “Mr. Rowland, the reading assignments are mandatory to every student.”

“What are you talking about, Charles? There is no sword.”

‘What?’ Charles didn’t say, not eager to repeat the experience. 

Edwin apparently could see right through his desperation, because he sighed with that ever-present hint of fondness and explained:

“This man thinks he is Arthur Pendragon, the once and future King of Britain, on a quest to find his missing sword Excalibur. There is absolutely no way that it is true, hence the hypothesis that he might be cursed. It is not unheard of for ghosts to develop mental illnesses, but it usually involves more rage and screaming, thinking you are the long lost King of Britain seems too specific for that.”

Taking a breath he didn’t really need, Charles focused back to the present to catch up with Edwin’s reasoning. “I think we should play along, if he has been cursed, there has to be a reason, maybe he will lead us to the artefact, or the person who cast the spell on him.”

“That is a brilliant idea, Charles,” Edwin agreed with a smile, more to tell him that they were back on the same track than anything. It sent that shiver up his spine that happened every time Edwin looked proud of him.

“We have decided to take your case, sir Pendragon,” Edwin declared as they returned to the office.

“Thank you, my kind subjects,” Arthur replied, and Charles, who was now in control of his mental faculties, had to fight to suppress a snort. He pushed all the ‘men are hot’ thoughts in one of those carefully locked boxes he had started collecting after Port Townsend to consider at a later date, or maybe never.

--

The hike to the lake where the magic sword was supposed to be was incredibly nice.

“We should do this more often, mate. I mean, mirror travel is cool and all, but look at the view!” He pointed to the mountains in the distance, the clear sky, and he felt excited like that one time he went camping with his friends when he was fifteen - before those same “friends” ended up murdering him.

Edwin put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “That is a good idea, perhaps we could take a small vacation after this case is closed.”

It was nice to see Edwin like that, more open, more relaxed. Not having to fear Death separating them, or Hell coming back to take him had done wonders in improving his well-being, which made a lot of sense if Charles was honest. Now that he had seen Hell himself, he had no idea how Edwin had kept it together as well as he did for over thirty years after he escaped.

“I will have you two executed if you do not find my sword right now,” the client declared.

Charles was quick to bow, not trusting Edwin’s bedside manners enough. “We are sorry, sire, we promise we are doing everything we can.”

--

They looked everywhere on the lake and around it, Edwin even tried different spells to reveal hidden magic, but they found nothing. 

“There must be something we are missing, he does not have the object binding the curse on his person, and I can’t find anything of worth in this place,” Edwin said, moving a bit further from where Arthur was looking longingly at the middle of the lake.

“You know that sentence you wanted to write on the wall of the office? ‘When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth’, maybe he really is what he says.”

Edwin looked a very balanced mix between flustered and impressed. “While I appreciate you remembering my favourite quote, I think if King Arthur existed, we would have heard about it before.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Charles conceded.

While they were going over their notes again, trying to notice something they might have overlooked, or a different spell they could use, an eerie figure appeared next to their client. It was a very pale man, all dressed in black.

The next moment, they were sprinting towards him at full speed.

“Who are you?” asked Edwin, while Charles retrieved his brand new cricket bat from the pocket universe he carried in his backpack.

The man, or being, or whatever he was, smirked, which was an odder sight than if he had manifested eyes all over his body, or a flaming wall behind him. “You must be the ghost detectives my sister is so fond of.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I am Dream of the Endless, I apologise for the inconvenience my escapee might have caused you,” he continued, ignoring Edwin’s disbelief.

“Dream of the Endless,” Charles repeated under his breath, trying to make sense of the words. “So your sister, who is fond of us is…”

“Death,” he said, matter-of-factly. “She wishes you would stay and say hi, sometimes. For now, I thank you for your service.”

He turned to keep talking to Arthur then, and after a while the two of them disappeared in a whirlwind of sand, leaving Charles and Edwin to gape at the empty space where they had been. 

“Well that was an experience,” said Charles. “So he was, what? A dream?”

“What a thought, to stop and say hi to Death,” Edwin exhaled at the same time. He was smiling his relaxed smile again, and Charles found his eyes stuck on the curve of his lips, the hint of tongue and teeth peeking from them.

“So, you fancied the once and future king?” the lips moved to form the words, before going back to that beautiful smile. 

Only when the meaning registered, Charles blinked. “What? No, of course, I-” he started, before remembering that they did promise each other no more lies, “maybe a little. Didn’t you? He looked like, I don’t know, the perfect example of man, the one you would expect to see on an advertisement for the entire species?”

Edwin pursed his lips, in that expression he made when he was trying not to laugh. “I can admit that he was objectively good looking, but, you know, blond hair and blue eyes is not really my type.”

He said it in his prim tone, the same way he would say ‘pass me that green book on supernatural diseases’, but there was no mistaking the flirtatious glint in his eyes.

Charles stopped. For a moment, it almost seemed like Edwin knew something that he didn’t even fully know himself, something carefully hidden in one of those boxes “to consider at a later date or maybe never” that he had been collecting. But flirting was like a second nature to him, so he couldn’t help but replying:

“Yeah, and what is your type?”

“Let me see,” Edwin said, slowly, carefully, stepping closer with every word. “Tall, athletic, big dark eyes, unruly hair,” he was right in front of him now, “likes to throw himself into danger to protect others, what else? Insanely clever and perceptive. Shall I continue?”

Charles took a deep breath, his eyes were fixed on the small space between them. “I think I should tell you something.”

If it was on anyone else, the fake surprised expression would have fooled him, but he knew Edwin’s eyes and smiles better than his own. He had to struggle to remain serious, even if he appreciated it for what it was: a way to give him the time to set the pace of the conversation and to take the lead.

“I have never allowed myself to think about it before, you know, with my dad being the way he was, but lately I have been noticing that I am attracted to guys as well. At first it was only one specific guy, but-” he stopped, cringing at the way it sounded, “What I mean is, I didn’t say anything because it was something too important, I had to be sure, and it’s easier to admit you can like someone when you have nothing to lose from it.”

The flirty smile turned into a soft one as Edwin said:

“You have every right to take your time and experiment, you don’t have to say anything, I apologise if-”

Charles stopped him very effectively by cupping his face with his hands. “I don’t want to experiment with anyone else, I think I’ve locked up these feelings for long enough.”

Edwin’s eyes widened, he looked like every ounce of confidence he had mustered up until then had left his body. “As much as I pride myself in my detective abilities, I need you to please say it out loud at least once. It’s been quite difficult for me to believe it, even when you were not at all subtle.”

“I like you,” Charles said immediately, wanting to erase the insecurity from his face. “I haven’t stopped thinking about your confession and what it could mean for our future, and I think I am finally ready to take you out on an official date, if you still want that.”

It was Edwin who leaned in first after that, but like it happened many other times, they met in the middle, instantly on the same wavelength again.

Distantly, almost completely hidden behind the all-encompassing sensation of Edwin holding him and their lips pressed together, Charles thought about how absurd it was that he had to thank the fucking King of Britain for finally managing to have this conversation. Edwin would tease him for all eternity.

[vintagerpg]

The Vorpal Almanac (2023) is also not what I would call a traditional monster book, but in the spirit of deconstruction and recontexualization that has run through this week’s posts, I think we can extend it some leeway.

It’s a collaboration between Levi Combs (words) and Sally Cantirino (art) and I love it a lot. It is unambiguous: a collection of 22 unique swords, an illustration (a portrait of the weapon and a previous owner) and flavorful quote on one half of the spread, a brief history and mechanical notation on the other half. An appendix consisting of a few tables allows for customization or the creation of new blades. Elegant. There are a lot of interesting weapons here (and skeletal owners, worth noting) but I think my favorite is Stormclaw, which can sometimes shoot out a bolt of lightning and acts as a lightning rod protecting the wielder from electrical attacks. There are probably more interesting blades in the book, but I like how Stormclaw feels unique and storied through the combination of a name, unusual magical properties and a brief and somewhat unremarkable history. More (all?) magic items should have at least this much individuality.

Monsters, though? Sure. Named swords of special history go back probably as far as swords themselves. Excalibur is probably the most famous, but there are heaps of them, every hero owning at least one (I have to say, though, one of my favorite things about Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser is that their named weapons aren’t special, to the extent that Fafhrd’s “Graywand” is whatever sword Fafhrd happens to be holding at a given moment). Tyrfing is perhaps my favorite legendary sword, forged under duress and cursed to kill a man whenever it was drawn. It’s one of several that inspired Michael Moorcock’s demonsword Stormbringer, and I think we can all agree that Stormbringer was a monster. I’m happy to call Netherfang and Nygotha from The Vorpal Almanac the same.

[plantyberry]

Cloudcuckoolander Tally Masterlist

Well, gee, already 2 posts about it, I guess I'll have to do a master list-ahem.

THE APOCALYPSE!!! (Capitals required)!

A VERY SERIOUS topic!

People dying left and right, monsters escaped from literaly hell to kill you (or worse), an unlikely crew of untrustworthy teammates, a mentor figure who may or may not want to start up another apocalypse…

Indeed, the Apocalypse is very doomy. And Gloomy.

But it needs not be always so, for there is One MC who resists again and again against the forces of angst and depression!

Have you ever wanted to roleplay as a masochistic fairy obsessed with their iron lamp?

Do you have the itch to summon the Great Old Ones to try and start a massive kaiju battle?

Are you perhaps interested in escaping deadly monsters though the power of tango?

If you have answered yes to any of those questions, congratulations, for we present to you the archetype of the…

Part 1: Prologue + Chapter 1: 'My little poltergeist can't sound this sexy!' Part 2: Chapter 1-2 and 1-2-2: The Polo Club, or, 'Carrots save lives, but have you tried the apples yet?' Part 3: Chapter 1-3 and 1-3-2: The Fencing Club, or, 'If I swallow Excalibur, does that mean I'll become invulnerable?' Part 5: Chapters 1-5, 1-5-2 and 1-5-3: the Time Bubble incident, or, 'My Magic 8-Ball is on the fritz!' Part 6: Chapter 1-6, or, 'Can't I be Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Film instead? Part 7: Chapter 1-7, or, 'An apartment on fire can be more useful than you think' Part 8: Chapter 2, or, 'We dine well here in Camelot. We eat ham and jam and spam a lot!' Part 9: Chapter 2-2, or, "But I'm not a serial killer and I don't have a gun, so what now?!" Part 10: Chapter 2-3, or, 'I cast: Summon soulmate!'

[liketwoswansinbalance]

what wouldve happened if the Saders (especially Marialena) didn't foretell the prophecy? What wouldve happened if Rafal didn't leave?

This has been in my ask box for months. I hope anon is still around if they still wanted the answer.

@fourleafclovxr Feel free to ignore this, but if you're interested, do you have any thoughts about this question—since it deals with seers and Saders?

⸻

If the neither brother had knowledge of the prophecy then there's a slight chance it may not have happened in a self-fulfilling way with their attempts to prevent it from coming true only furthering its completion. They might've been able to maintain peace.

Yet, even if the prophecy were not told, well, their world is still governed by fate, and considering how much of an inescapable grip that predestination has over everyone's lives, how fates that can't be circumvented—I'm not sure if the innate genre they lived in could have changed from "tragedy."

Even if fates can be subverted by being fulfilled in unconventional ways (as any room for interpretation could be exploited by participants) I don't see how fratricide and there being just One left standing(?) could contain some kind of exceptional clause.

Regardless, this possibility would mean that some sort of "user-friendly" loopholes could exist in their world, like how Chaddick's blood on the handkerchief allowed Rhian II to pull Excalibur when he otherwise wouldn't have been able to.

That instance of cheating is the best example I have at the moment. The rightful son didn't pull the sword, but the event itself, of the sword being pulled, still was able to happen given situational factors. The rightful heir's blood still came into contact with the sword, the sword was pulled (by someone), and the "right" candidate became king by the end. What happened between seminal events may not have mattered in the grand scheme of things.

Thus, prophecies may well work in a top-down way, only going as small-scale as they need to, to ensure outcomes.

So, from this, we could take away that the endings may be predetermined, but that the path to such endings could be open to interference—only to the degree that the ending wouldn't change as the result of any meddling, even if unanticipated third parties involve themselves.

The parties not affected by the prophecy, outside its bounds, could plausibly do whatever they wanted, and have free will (ostensibly, everyone has free will though), but I could venture to say that the consequences of said, seemingly free actions could be manipulated by the hand of fate, to produce those certain outcomes.

Basically, in the Woods, no matter what you try, since you at least have the freedom to try, you won't change a thing with your actions. All those actions would still snowball to produce the exact outcome that's set to happen. (And, if this were true, trying to change your fate would be futile. E.g., think of how Sophie and Agatha were locked into their true natures. They couldn't switch sides.)

(Keep in mind that this post just represents my view of things. We don't necessarily have canon confirmation of anything I'm speculating about.)

Applied to the prequels, if Midas' or the Pan's presences/roles were never predetermined, then they just helped the inevitable end along. If neither of them had been there, perhaps the prophecy still could have reached the same ending by other equally-as-effective means. (Different potential plot(s), one outcome.)

We could also argue that Adela's wording was vague enough to exploit.

So, the same thing could apply to the twins: the prophecy of the One and Adela's betrayal, war, death could happen, and lead to the same outcomes, but the specifics could unfold differently. Or, the events could all happen in the same way but hold different meaning/implications for the future (no 200 year curse despite fratricide or death of another form for Rafal?). Or, none of the events could happen in the same way, but the final ending would be fixed, like I proposed before. I guess we don't really know how malleable or interpretable prophecies or visions are.

And seeing that it's Marialena, I wouldn't put it past her to use red-herrings or mislead, even without saying a word of prophecy. Lying, other methods, or other dialogue/persuasion could produce the same results.

It's hard to separate out the cause and effect to me. We should ask: did (early) knowledge of the prophecy affect how it played out? Or was it set in stone? Or was it inevitable that Rafal's particular combination of character traits (the extorting, the threats, etc.) and the situation (in Monrovia) would have led him to finding out about the prophecy and that that very moment was also a part of the prophecy in action, happening or beginning?

⸻

Second, if Rafal hadn't left, I think the characterization that would hold true was the bit of internal monologue we saw in Fall, that he intentionally cedes some minor(?) arguments to keep the peace with Rhian.

Rhian might not even realize anything were wrong or that Rafal were (probably) hurt by his side being devalued.

I would suspect if Rhian were aware, not much would change. Rhian is prone to burying conflict and truth after all. But, I couldn't see him dwelling on the conflict Rafal lay to rest, unless he had good reason to, or lasting guilt/shame over it.

Rafal on the other hand holds grudges, and while we know he isn't the Evil brother now, he has Evil tendencies, of course, so he could easily let his resentment accumulate and fester inside until he found it in himself to do something: either leave, like he did, or perhaps, display passive aggression?

Outright anger against his brother would not be productive, but if his resentment became that severe, he could potentially lash out, and Rhian would see Rafal's "unprovoked" response as coming out of nowhere. Then, Rhian could accuse him of being irrationally antagonistic, like a villain without motive, or Evil that "always" (often, as of late) loses and that has to deprive Good of an ending to gain one for itself, as we would see the beginning hints of Evil's losing streak no matter what.

By that point, Rafal might either drop the issue, but secretly continue to hold the grudge for the rest of time, a reasonably moderate and functional if not flawless happy ending for the both of them. (Would it last? I'm doubtful.)

Or, Rafal could argue back, setting off the prophecy, even if it had a delayed start this time since I suspect any major enough argument could have set the brothers down the wrong path, no matter what the argument was about, Aladdin or someone/something else, if their bond had weakened over the decades, like it might've been implied to have done in canon.

[kivaember]

okay a sneak peek into start of the "umbra in 1999" fic im planning. it's a sliiiight AU in that 1999 kicks off differently since instead of a vanilla Excalibur getting spat out it was Umbra, BUT while things go a little differently the end result is the same for the first run of the quest: everyone dies :)

anyways, hope you enjoy the sneak peek~

-

SANCTUM ANATOMICA REACTOR INCIDENT IN - ú �å � �‡² � � æ

“Okay, this is the plan: we get there, get Entrati, and keep the Hex alive.”

“…”

“I know it’s loose on details, but there’s no point making anything more solid than this. Wally will derail it, otherwise.”

“…”

“What if we get split up? Good question…”

“…”

“Priority? Well, it seems like Fate is dogging the Hex, and they’re linked with Entrati, so…”

“…”

“Yeah. So, if we get split up once we’re in 1999, then whoever’s with the Hex will stick with them, and the other will go after Entrati.”

“…”

“Hey, you don’t need to worry about me, Umbra. I can take care of myself.”

“…”

“Yeah, yeah, you too.”

“…”

“Yup, it’s time.”

“…”

“It doesn’t look like it’s gonna be a fun journey, but… I trust Loid’s work. I kinda have to, y’know?”

“…”

“I’m glad you’re coming with me, even though I know it’s on the kid’s orders. You don’t- you know, you don’t have to-”

“…”

“You sure?”

“…”

“Okay… well. If you’re ready…”

“…”

“Then I’ll see you on the other side. Hopefully thing's will go according to plan...”

-

Of course, things didn’t go to plan.

-

ENTRATI BACKROOM REACTOR INCIDENT IN 4HRS 55MINS

Umbra lurked in the shadowed corner of the backroom, arms crossed, as the Hex solemnly listened to Entrati’s video message. It didn’t move when the video message concluded, and it didn’t move when the first of the group caved to self-preservation instinct, slinking away with their tail between their legs. Entrati’s face stared down at them all from multiple monitors, haggard and stern - and out of their reach.

“But this half-assed plan’s gone full-guano,” the Trinity protoframe said bluntly.

Umbra couldn’t agree more. It shifted its focus from Entrati’s stern faces to the remaining Hex. Frantically trying to salvage their plans, or what barebones of a plan they had in the first place, all still determined to do the Right Thing even if one of their own realised the futility of their mission. Umbra passed no judgement on them, though - it wasn’t here to judge. It was here to support, as it and Drifter had agreed, because in the end…

“Five of us,” the Mag protoframe sighed. “Arthur, maybe-”

“Six,” the Excalibur protoframe interrupted. He was looking right at Umbra, and as if only just remembering its presence, the rest of the Hex turned to stare at it too. “Since he’s followed us here, I’m assuming he’s still willing to help.”

“Uh, do we know how…” the Mag protoframe wobbled her hand in a gesture Umbra could not parse, her face creasing into a grimace. “Uh, how many bolts are rattling in his skull? Marty was piloting him around like a mecha, so I assumed he just followed us like, you know, a lost dog would?”

“We don’t know if we can trust it, either,” the Trinity protoframe said, giving Umbra a distrustful look. “It’s fully Infested, isn’t it? Just a more sophisticated Techrot cabron with a short leash.”

A brief silence lapsed, gloomy and tense. Umbra did nothing to alleviate it. They may trust it, or not, but Umbra’s priority was clear: keeping them alive, even if they were determined to kill themselves in a suicide mission. It wasn’t sure what to do if they attacked it out of misguided suspicion it was a “Techrot cabron”, whatever that was, but Umbra was confident it could take them all on at once and win - it would just be counter-productive. How would they find Entrati and close the loop if Umbra thrashed them senseless?

Or perhaps that would be more productive? They couldn’t die if they were knocked unconscious and left here, after all. Umbra knew little and less about nuclear reactors, but it had access to a Parazon. It could infiltrate the reactor and disable it itself. It could take on an army if need be. It will succeed where they would fail.

Umbra considered it. Should they attack the Hex to save them?

[tgrailwar-zero]

RICHARD: "Now-- let's see about this monster hunt!"

He started walking off.

GIL: "Hey, do you even know where you're going?!"

Figuring there wasn't much stopping him, you followed behind.

You went around, passing the central terminal, and taking the leftmost path this time. You found yourself in a large, industrial-seeming room. As soon as you passed the threshold of the doorway, there was a beep as the door slammed shut behind you with a heavy, mechanical thud.

[ This is your first test. ]

There was that voice again.

[ You recall the Countess, yes? Perhaps you do not. If you do not, then this may be good for jogging your memory. ]

You figured this was prerecorded. With how stilted her voice sounded, you couldn't tell one way or the other.

[ She and that warrior woman brought you back in the worst shape. At least the warrior was attempting to train you, the Countess seemed to just enjoy breaking things and handing them back to me to fix. ]

[ 'My stuffed piggy broke, can you fix it? Oh, and lower its pain tolerance, it's starting to get a bit too tough,' she would say-- as if that was not the point. Your precious body splintered, but not bloodied. No. She took good care of your blood. ]

[ … ]

[ I digress. ]

[ This is a prototype design. Taking it down should be a simple task. ]

You looked around the room. It was empty-- before you heard the sound of rumbling metal.

You heard a sound. A call, distant- mechanical, yet ephemeral.

A massive mechanical form dropped from the high ceiling, crashing to the ground and kicking up smoke, billowing pillars swirling around it.

You heard the sound of mechanisms whirring, pistons and gears firing, as a large automata rose from the smoke. It was at least 25 feet tall, with massive wings and a large, trashing tail.

A dragon?

RICHARD: "A dragon?!"

The smoke cleared, revealing something more… humanoid.

RICHARD: "Oh-ho! A giantess, then? A fitting first foe!"

GIL: "Stand on guard! That thing looks stupid, but I can tell it's packing a lot of firepower!"

The giant mechanical woman turned, looking down at the Servants.

RICHARD: "Now then... shall we begin?"

ENDURANCE GAUGE: [X/X/X/X/X/X]

MANA CHARGES: [ X / X / X / X / - ]

COMMAND SPELLS: [ X | X | X ]

HEAT: { - | - | - | - | - }

HEAT is required for RICHARD's 'FURY SHIFT':

A unique trigger possessed by Richard due to belonging to a multifaceted Master-- some of which that may have been more attuned to Richard's aspects as a 'warlord'. Richard can take 'Brave Actions', which have a higher chance of causing Richard harm, but increase his 'Heat'. When his 'Heat' is fully maxxed out, the Masters can temporarily shift him into a destructive state surrounded by raging flames-- a true manifestation of 'Lionheart'. Richard's Endurance Gauge will continuously decrease each action, however his destructive power increases immensely.

COMBO ATTACKS:

SWORD OF GILDED VICTORY

{REQUIRES: YOUNG GIL + RICHARD I, -3 MP EACH} --

Gil passes Richard a blade from the Age of Gods from his treasury, allowing him to use 'Excalibur' in a massively powered up fashion, unleashing a barrage of super-powered beams. The blade is destroyed once the technique is completed.

REGARDING COMBO ATTACKS:

All involved parties have to agree to do the Combo Attack, or else it falls through! Pay close attention to poll results!

[shanastoryteller]

happy birthday! identity shenanigans in the fandom of your choice, please?

Part 1 2

Chris doesn't get through more than two upper level demons before the sisters' calling for him starts to give him a headache.

He orbs back in the manor, arms crossed. "Did you figure out how to put the sword back in the lake?"

Leo is here now. Great. As if this whole situation wasn't already terrible.

"My liege," says a tall man in a ridiculous outfit, going into a deep bow. "I felt when the sword was removed. I am here to teach you how to wield it."

Chris can't even pretend to give a fuck. "Go away."

"Um, he seems to a lot about the sword?" Phoebe offers. "Maybe he can help you put it back. His name is Mordaunt."

"It would be my honor to-"

"Am I your king or aren't I?" Chris demands. "Fuck off."

Paige seems delighted by his attitude while Piper is taken aback and Leo is frowning.

"Perhaps you are not the king," Mordaunt suggests, "your combative attitude could be a result of the sword's corruptive power. It's strange that the sword would appear in the Charmed Ones' home only for you to take it from the stone."

People thinking the sword can't possibly belong to him is nothing new. It was always supposed to be Wyatt, no one ever questioned that, but when the time he came he couldn't make the sword budge, no matter what he did.

Chris's time with it had been brief. He'd been too young when he'd pulled it free and Wyatt had stolen it and corrupted it and been corrupted by it. No one had believed him.

Well, almost no one.

"Are you saying Excalibur doesn't know it's master?" he asks sharply.

Mordaunt visibly hesitates.

"Go," he says. "Before I make you."

His face sours but he gives a shallow bow and disappears into a vortex. Interesting. Those are typically associated with neutral parties.

The sisters and Leo look wary. He holds back a sigh and says, "If the sword were truly corrupting me, I wouldn't want to put it back and I'd be trying to conquer the world. It's mine."

"You're King Arthur?" Paige presses. "You're a whitelighter!"

Piper's face softens. "Were you king before you died?"

There are so many reasons that this is a disaster, but the questions it brings up are the worst for him personally.

He supposes he's just lucky that Piper hadn't grabbed for the sword. She's his mother, and the half of him that will eventually become, well, him, is still inside of her. She would have been able to pull it from the stone, it would have corrupted her, and it would have been almost impossible to get it away from her without revealing his identity.

"It's not king like you're thinking of it," he says finally. "Don't worry about it. Unless me being king means you'll actually listen to me, in which case it means exactly what you think it does."

"If you're the king, why didn't you say that when you first appeared?" Leo challenges. "It would have meant more than you just being a random whitelighter from the future."

Chris stares. "Yeah, because historically the Charmed Ones have responded so well to authority. It doesn't matter. I'm not a king here."

His identity matters in the future. It's the only reason the Resistance exists at all.

Wyatt doesn't use Excalibur against him in battle. The sword, even corrupted, knows its king. It won't harm him.

His brother found that out that hard way, in front of too many witnesses. It's the only reason anyone is crazy enough to go against someone who's seemingly almost all powerful.

"You're so young, though," Phoebe frowns. "How long have you been a whitelighter? You're not even born yet. And - why would the Elders make you a whitelighter? You need to be reincarnated. It's your destiny."

Destiny is horseshit.

It's Paige who figures it out. He'd always worried that it would be her, that he'd see the similarities between them that no one else noticed. "Unless - you didn't die. You're not a whitelighter."

Piper frowns. "Honey, he's pretty obviously a whitelighter."

"No," she shakes her head. "I mean, yeah, but he's like me. You didn't die. You were born a whitelighter."

This day really can't get any worse.

[semi-sketchy]

Alright, since I'm at that episode, I'm gonna elaborate on my actual problem with Dark Sonic:

To be honest, I don't think there's anything really wrong with Sonic during the episode. He's angry his friends have been hurt by a villain, so he harnesses the power of the fake Emeralds (which he has a physical negative reaction to) and smashes said villain's testing robots to pieces.

I never really considered this a problem. Sonic can get angry, be antagonized, the SA2 Shadow fight in Green Forest springs to mind.

Plus, Secret Rings has Darkspine Sonic, which is about as close to Dark Sonic as it gets. Sharha just died, trading her life for his, he absorbs the Rage, Sadness and Hatred Rings and transforms.

Even after he leaves the transformation, he still seems pretty pissed at Erazor Djinn, with killing Sharha at the top of the list.

So, yeah. It's not 1:1 and I'm not claiming these are the same, X is obviously more exaggerated, but I don't really have a problem with the concept. We can talk about how Eggman comes in, tells Sonic he needs to be better and not let his emotions overwhelm him, but frankly I think that's more of an X!Eggman issue than the transformation itself.

No, my real problem is, and always has been, how the fandom interpreted it. That's it. I've read so many fics, seen so many posts about Sonic just "turning dark" when angry, as if any transformations have ever been purely emotion without an external power-source. (Super requires the Chaos Emeralds, Hyper the Super Emeralds, Darkspine was 3 of the World Rings, Werehog was Dark Gaia energy, Excalibur Sonic was the sacred swords, Wisp transformations needed the Wisps, Super Sonic 2 was Chaos Emeralds + Cyber energy....you get it.)

The way I've always saw it, is yes, Sonic is upset, but he also is being affected by the fake Emeralds.

This is the Discotek translation, I don't know enough Japanese to say how accurate it is, all I know know is "warui" means bad/sick depending on the sentence. An older translation (and the English dub) points to him feeling physically sick around them.

Far as I can tell, he's already reacting bad to these Emeralds on top of being antagonized, so he uses power that's at his disposal does what the villain wants: fuck up his shit.

If the fake Emeralds didn't exist, this transformation wouldn't have happened. Additionally, since X ended and the only fake Emerald in the games was blown up in SA2, it can't happen again. (Unless you write scenario where someone makes fake Emeralds, but that requires writing for the form instead of just slapping it in à la characters in IDW.)

Perhaps I'm being too hard on a lot of kids that never really interacted with the source material and just wanted to write Sonic fanfics. I've read so many that made it quite obvious that the author didn't know anything about Sonic besides he's fast and I'm not really out here trying to say Sonic shouldn't inspire people to create. Never said I hated reading those fics, I got a good deal of entertainment out of them. It's simply this misconception has stretched so far, it's like the original context has been entirely erased.

And that's the part of Dark Sonic that bothers me.

I've seen plenty of arguments for why the transformation was a poor choice and I don't entirely disagree with them. For me, I could take it or leave it. It was a one-off short transformation in an anime where Sonic pretends to be Star Trek for a season, it just exists to me.

Although, it's been awhile since I last saw discussion of Dark Sonic, as a whole it seemed to be a bigger thing in the early 2010s. Possibly because now we have more recent Sonic shows and movies, it's not just X being the latest thing anymore. I certainly don't read fics like I used to, so I'd be surprised if it is still as heavily used as it used to be. Maybe if I get some time, I'll look up some fics and find out.

[r0ckstar00]

EXCALIBUR'S WRATH (Sonic and the Black Knight 2)

Everyone knew the tale.

The tale of a cobalt hedgehog, drifting in from another dimension, swooping down to rid the world of plague that had haunted them for years. The tale of a witch obsessed with immortality and afraid of the changes her kingdom may face. The tale of how the hero ended up the "bad guy", the opposition ending her delusion and restoring the world the way it should be.

Yes, everyone knows that tale. But there is one that no one ever speaks of - one far more significant than the former. One that changed the world for good.

This... is the tale of Excalibur's Wrath.

Do you dare to fight again?

When Camelot recovers from their gruesome battle with the Dark Queen, another sinister evil lurks from underneath. From the dark army reappearing from thin air to the disappearance of the all-powerful sword Excalibur (or Caliburn as he much rather prefer to be called), the Knights of the Round Table are at a loss.

Who is this enemy?

With no answers and far too many questions, they all decide to recall King Arthur otherwise known as the trusty cobalt hedgehog named Sonic the Hedgehog. Perhaps in their time of need might he shine the brightest.

But without the power of Excalibur, Sonic fears that he may not be able to stop the looming doom that taints the world with its dark color. With a dire situation lingering over his head, will he have the strength to push back? Or will he be overcome with powerlessness, unable to fight back?

A/N: Surprise. Sequel to Sonic and the Black Knight 2! This will be my home page for all the chapters and information you might need in order to understand some things in the book (and me too because I know NOTHING about old tales the sword in the stone).

This idea only came to me as a joke. I started saying like “what if I wrote a sequel to a game that doesn’t really need one?” and so then the gears in my brain started to turn and I came up with this.

And so, this idea has been nurtured so much that I would HONESTLY say that this could work as an actual game. I would put it on the switch for convenience (cause the Wii is a little outdated as of now lol), but it could so work. All it needs is Jason Griffith and a whole lot of coding.

Enough of me talking, though. I’m sure you want to know the cast. And might I say I’ve introduced nearly 5 new characters into the world of Camelot, a few you’d be surprised to see.

I also have a few more side notes; since this is basically fan-made there WILL be implied ships. Which ones? I’ll let you figure that out. ~

MAIN CAST (I’ll put descriptions for them later)

King Arthur / Sonic

The King of Camelot. Dubbed the Knight of the Wind in the past, this speedy hedgehog grew to take over the kingdom in a long, treacherous journey that involved various risks. Seeing his potential and bravery to fight for an unknown land, Caliburn - now Excalibur - had decided to grant him the title of King. However, nothing can keep this hedgehog in one spot for long, so he's unable to run his kingdom properly. Although he is the true King, Merlina manages everything he can't.

Merlina

The "co-ruler" of Camelot. Once a tyrant obsessed with the idea of immortality, she now spends her days rebuilding the kingdom that she almost destroyed. She makes decisions for the kingdom in King Arthur's absence and takes charge of the Knights of the Round Table. Merlina wishes to become the best mage in the world to protect her newfound kingdom from harm, and she will stop at nothing to do so.

Sir Lancelot / Shadow

The first Knight of the Round Table. He was the first knight that King Arthur faced, and perhaps even his most loyal follower. Sir Lancelot fights beside him chivalrously, ensuring that his King is not hurt in any way, shape or form. After Arthur's unfortunate departure, he finds himself introverted - perhaps longing for the battles he used to have. He takes it upon himself to fight for the kingdom, even if Arthur isn't around.

Sir Gawain / Knuckles

WIP

Sir Percival / Blaze

WIP

Sir Galahad / Silver

WIP

Sir Lamorak / Jet

WIP

Lady of the Lake | Nimue / Amy

A water deity residing in the Deep Woods, the adoptive mother of Sir Lancelot and Exalibur's original owner, Nimue has a lot of things going for her. She often guides newcomers, the Knights of the Round Table or even King Arthur himself with her words of wisdom, preferring that to the gruesome battles the others face. However, she is not unwilling to use her magic to protect the ones she loves.

Griffin / Tails

The townspeople's blacksmith. Although he's rather young and scrawny, Griffin has been known to be able to fix anything brought into his shop which often comes in handy when the Knights of the Round Table need it. He's known to have certain complex inferiority issues, though all that is pushed aside when he looks at his weapons and armor in action.

Orella / Rouge

A winemaker and a collector of fine jewels and rarities. She's independent, rather bossy, and knows just how to sweeten people over with only a few words and a certain look. She runs the largest wine business in Camelot and gets intel from every place on the map. Perhaps she'll share it with you... if you give her something in return.

Adelaide / Cream

A lonesome child wandering through the forest in search of her mother who she only has memories of. She's a master of the wilderness, knowing which berries are poisonous, knowing which plants you cannot touch under any circumstances, and she even knows how to survive on her own all at the tender age of six. There is also a secret she hides deep within her - one that she must not let anyone see, lest someone abuse it.

Raziel / Espio

Being a scribe and a poet isn't easy, especially when witnessing the downfall of both King Arthur and the Dark Queen. He has information about everything - whether it be the sacred legends of time, or even just about any place on the map. Any practical information he has, he's willing to share with anyone he deems acceptable and worthy. But if you also wanna listen to his poems too, that's acceptable.

Kazamir / Metal Sonic

An underling created by Mordred to keep the knights at bay. He was created with the speed and dexterity of Arthur, and to the naked eye, the two could even be mistaken as twins. It's only when they look up close do they realize that he's completely made out of painted metal - and remnants of dark magic.

Mordred

An ancient spirit set from decades ago, desperate to rule the kingdom that was selfishly taken from him by the original King Arthur. A master of dark magic, manipulation, and someone with a whole army by his side, he will stop at nothing to take back the kingdom that was rightfully his.

[alexistalkscomics]

Exceptional X-Men is the Kitty Pryde book that we need and deserve.

After more than 40 years since she first appeared in the classic Dark Phoenix Saga by Chris Claremont and John Byrne and decades of her queerness being relegated to subtext that was occasionally problematic or just outright erased by both Marvel’s editorial and writers who never outgrew their boyhood crushes on her (looking at you Whedon),…

…Kitty Pryde is now finally able to be explicitly bi and date a woman.

As a longtime fan of Kitty, I was cautiously excited when Eve Ewing and Carmen Carnero’s Exceptional X-Men was announced this year. The reasoning behind my cautious excitement was because whilst I was glad to see that Kitty would be having a prominent role in From The Ashes after being sidelined for much of Fall of X, I was also concerned that Kitty would once again have her bisexuality erased and some concept art that was shown with the announcement of the series lacked her Magen David which made me worried that her Jewishness would also be downplayed or erased.

Whilst it’s been a recurring piece of subtext and a source of speculation by fans for much of her history, Kitty’s bisexuality was only officially acknowledged and canonised for the first time in 2020’s Marauders #12, written and drawn by Gerry Duggan and Matteo Lolli, when Kitty was shown kissing a female tattoo artist in the aftermath of her resurrection.

Despite much rejoicing from fans that an important aspect of her character that had long been erased seemed to be finally be getting acknowledged, that rejoicing quickly turned to disillusionment and a feeling of betrayal when it became clear that at least for the duration of the Krakoan Era, Kitty’s queerness was never going to amount to anything more than a single kiss with a nameless woman and one line that specified that she seemingly has different tastes in men and women.

So after all of that, I’m sure that you can understand why I wasn’t initially too hopeful in regards to how Exceptional was going to be approaching the next stage in Kitty’s development.

But upon reading the first issue of Exceptional X-Men, I was pleasantly surprised when Kitty could be seen wearing her Magen David and referred to the date that she was intending to meet with she/her pronouns. Perhaps, this was finally going to be the Kitty Pryde book that I’ve been longing to read for years.

Thankfully, my hopes of finally having a Kitty Pryde book where she can finally unapologetically be the bisexual Jewish woman that Claremont intended her to be have been realised:

In issue 2 of Exceptional X-Men, Kitty is shown finally getting to meet her date who we learn is a woman called Nina.

Even though I personally identify as a trans-het woman, Kitty Pryde has long been a role model for me as a representation of a strong and proud queer Jewish woman so finally getting to see my favourite X-Men character be explicitly queer feels so overdue after decades of being treated as the embodiment of a disturbing adolescent cartoon crush by cishet male writers (read Warren Ellis’ Excalibur to see what I’m talking about).

And even though Exceptional has yet to touch on Kitty’s Jewishness in any meaningful way, I have faith that Ewing will treat that part of Kitty with the respect and importance it deserves but rarely receives from other writers.

[noneatnonedotcom]

new character!

character's build is "fuck you imma use excalibur! it's a pretty simple build. two main powers that will be down bellow. side note this character will be the sidekick to shining knight from DC specifically the justice league unlimited version.

Slipping Chains: (600CP) The greatest power in this world have conditions to their use. Anything from standing in sunlight to being at death’s door to fight back depending on which Authority you hold. Often times just setting things up to begin fighting could leave you dead on the ground if everything doesn’t line up just right. In your case the chains that bind have been coated in grease. Sunlight could be replaced by electronic lights in great enough quantity, or perhaps a ludicrously sized fireball. Defending a fair maiden could become defending anyone, and one the verge of death could become grievously wounded. The core idea remains the same, but achieving them becomes far easier. You’ll find this slippery nature applying to any conditional otherworldly abilities you come to possess, should you have them at all.

The Sword of Promised Victory: (400CP) "No light shines greater in the hearts of men than that of glory and no blade embodies that glory more so than Excalibur. The blade of light that brings out the fondest feelings of all warriors that see it, even as it obliterates them, and can force madmen back to sanity with a glimpse of this glory.

Excalibur is the embodiment of victory and a mighty weapon in it's own right. A holy blade of truly peerless strength, endurance and cutting power in this world, it is also able to instantly convert any amount of magical energy residing in the wielder's body into destructive beams of holy light.

Fired as an energy beam or blast from the tip of the blade in less than a second from activation, the blast of Excalibur can cleanse almost any foe from the face of the world. While costly to activate even for King Arthur, it is more than capable of vaporising fortresses, mountains or even Divine Beasts.

The ranks of those that can survive a full power beam, as it can be adjusted for less cost and power, are limited to powerful Divine Spirits, the mightiest Dragons and beings above them. The weapon is constantly covered in a powerful enchantment of wind, placed by Merlin himself. This conceals the sword to all eyes but your own, rendering it invisible, and cloaks it in an aura of wind. This wind can be controlled, made to cut and grind away or even unleashed in a powerful blast that on it's own, would be a match for many powerful magical tools.

While this Invisible Air is active, it significantly reduces the attack power of the blade and prevents you from activating the holy light. The sword must be revealed to the foe to show it's true self, in the manner of a chivalrous knight.

Much like the Lance of the End- Rhongomyniad, Excalibur has potentially not normally seen. There are Thirteen Seals on the blade, one made by each member of the Round Table. Each seal that has it's condition met, raises the power of the sword even beyond what you might do by charging it with more energy. Unlocking all Thirteen Seals would return Excalibur to it's original form, a shining light made to protect the very planet. A weapon that can decisively drive away even the Umbral Star itself from this world in a single, glorious ray of light."

Combat Method: (free) Almost everyone in you encounter in this world will have training in a martial art, from normal styles like wrestling or karate to more esoteric styles like Turkish oil wrestling. Think of this perk as evening out the playing field.

You may select any one mundane martial art and gain moderate skill and training in the art of your choice. Not true mastery though, for the road to mastery is a long and difficult one.

For 100CP each, you can get knowledge of another fighting style granted to you, but not the training, requiring you do that on your own time.

martial art is german longsword style.

Laplace Factor: (free) "While magical reserves are determined at birth, there are some exceptions like those with a Laplace Factor which allows them to grow and expand their magical reserves to a substantial amount during their childhood.

As a jumper you also have this Laplace Factor dialed up to eleven and it won’t disappear once you’re grown. It lets you expand your magical reserves infinitely by simply depleting your magical reserves and allowing it to recover. It also grows with time doubling in amount every year even without doing anything. Furthermore, you also lack the disability of being unable to wear Battle Aura like most beings that have the original Laplace Factor possess.

Should you have multiple types of energy pools, this would allow you to combine it into one energy pool that has all their advantages and devoid of their drawbacks though you can split them whenever you wish."

Battle Aura: (free) "A warrior has an ability to coat their whole body or a specific part of their body in Mana or magical energy, forming a dense mantle of energy known as Battle Aura. This can be done when someone reaches a sufficient level of development in their body and skills while some unconsciously use it. In your case, you instinctively know how to use it and it passively coats your entire body and clothes from the get-go. This allows you to explosively boost strength, speed, durability, reaction times, spatial awareness and magic resistance along with the ability to strengthen your weapon and perform unbelievable techniques and even resisting harsh conditions like extreme heat and cold is also possible. By default you have the talent to reach Saint-Rank within three years on your own at bare minimum, but with a proper teacher and learning environment you may reach God-Rank in a decade along with having the instinctive ability to use and wield the Beginner-Rank techniques of the Three Sword-Styles.

You also gained the ability to grant the ability to use the Battle Aura of this world to someone who doesn't have it. The people that you grant the Battle Aura/Magic System would gain a talent that allows them to reach Saint-Rank within three years on their own at bare minimum, but those with a proper teacher and learning environment may reach God-Rank in a decade granted they only focus on either becoming a Warrior or Magician and not both, if not it would take much longer reach God-Rank.

By default those who you grant this ability gain an effect similar to Laplace Factor, which allows them to improve their Mana Reserves so long they train and continue to deplete their Mana Reserves and they also have the ability to pass Battle Aura to their children and their descendants. You can also grant the same ability/talent to people who lack it in this jump."

TLDR: magic knight who's main ability is that he's able to circumvent the protective seals on excalibur to use it's full power putting him well into top tier levels of power for earth. his magic powers also grow really fast as well as his skill with battle aura. letting him tank hits and deal more damage. (can you belive that those abilities are free? i mean yeah it's more about learning and training but still!") he meets shining knight after he accidently steals excalibur for mordred not knowing what he was doing. the older knight taking him on as a squire after he sees how easily he's able to use the sword and knowing that should he fall to evil it would be a massive problem. not sure what his major story beats would be, should he join young justice? @heliosthegriffin @howlingday @weatherman667 thoughts on how well this character would do in the DC universe?

example of shining knight

[avirxy]

Angst/Horror prompts: “I gave you everything and this is how you repay me?” for Morgana and “Breathe slowly, show no signs of fear.” for Mary.

Fury, cannot properly describe her simmering mood.

Morgana has been many, many things, a docile princess, an apprentice, a witch, a traitor, the mother of monsters. The list could be parchments long, she’s choosing not to dwell on it.

But now as she is knelt here, forced into a shallow bow before the throne her father once sat, a cruel man in itself.

She’s next in line to befall a horrific fate under the crown.

“Death isn’t enough,” Arthur decrees, pointing Excalibur down at her, in his shadow, below him, “not for you, dear sister.”

She fights the sneer trying to twist her lips. Showing him her discontent will only fuel his pride. And its quite a wide expanse, he’s always been too prideful, even as children.

The manacles dig into her wrists, cutting at the skin, restricting her movements.

Even the knights stay a wary distance away, their swords glinting in the harsh sunlight through the stained windows.

“I gave you everything and this is how you repay me?” She asks pointedly.

Her filthy half brother raises a brow. “Everything? Is that how you dictate treason?”

“Treason,” Morgana laughs hoarsely, “I saved your life too many times to account for.”

“You freed those trolls! You and your magic wielding accomplices!” He bellows and the people nearest flinch, unsteady with the kings rage.

Her handmaiden is amongst the crowd, good, they hadn’t suspected her despite her hand in the freedom of the trolls. Dark eyes scowling up at Arthur, waiting.

Morgana can sense the darkness wafting closer to the girl, intertwining it’s vines of plague upon her.

It seems she’s already decided her fate all on her own, shard of dark magic included, Morgana will let her walk her own path, even if it falls into oblivion.

Some cannot be stopped, their will too powerful to calculate what they could lose, or perhaps they don’t care.

“Your slaves?” Morgana hisses, acknowledging her brother, “Those you bound unlawfully?”

Arthur raises his chin, “Creating those creatures has been the final straw, those hideous amalgamations of human and filth.”

“They are the bridge, a sign of waning times.” She calmly announces. “Your reign is ending brother.”

“Preposterous!” Arthur swings Excalibur, red in the face with his rage. “The dungeons will be the last walls you see, your days end in a cell, wasting away.”

“Merlin, I want her taken—“

It seems then Arthur finally realizes his powerful wizard was never in the room to begin with, what he thought was his shadow wastes away into the dark, a mere diversion.

Morgana smirks.

“You’ve underestimated me again brother, all of you have,”

Murmurs fill the crowd, her handmaiden has stepped back, weaving through the bodies to end up at the doors, the lock swinging between her digits menacingly.

The girl is an incredible listener, Morgana will give her that and as she hears it click into place, locking each and every person in attendance inside, all the corrupt dukes and duchess, nobles.

The cuffs are weak magic, Merlin’s power is great yes. But it cannot hope to defer the sheer magnitude of hate when infused with magic.

Iron slides off her wrists as she rises, and she gets the most satisfying experience of watching Arthur’s face twist in horror, her hand rising to aim a broiling gold blast straight at his chest.

“And that will be your downfall.”

(That one scene in the Wizards intro where they have a proper battle in the throne room would have been so sick, and this kinda..slots into Tulips of Time? In a way)

[sugar-coated-prat-dragon]

Title: Nimueh did feel some regret over Ygraine’s death 💔

Episode: "Excalibur" questions #4

Questions by @tansyuduri

Tagging: @miyriu

Books used for reference: Sword and Sorcery book and The Merlin Complete Guide 📚

Question: Why would Tristan attack Uther for what he thought was a normal childbirth death? That would be REALLY weird.

My answer: Is it really that hard to believe though?

Agravaine didn’t know about the life-for-a-life magical bargain and he still blamed Uther for his sisters death.

Hell, if anything Agravaine was worse, because not only did he want to kill Uther, but he despised Arthur for being born and wanted him dead too.

Grief is a tricky emotion.

In some ways, it’s almost more dangerous than displaced rage.

Question: Wraith clearly has a different meaning in this show?

Usually, it refers to a ghost, death omen or a soul who was on the verge of death/recently passed on?

My answer:

Actually, the definition for Wraith in the show (and in the tv shows glossary) is quite literally; apparition or a ghost.

The only difference between a normal run-of-the-mill ghost and a Wraith is that it’s the ‘spirit of a dead man’ conjured from the grave using magic and then that same tormented soul is made to live again as a physical manifestation of the living dead.

Basically, a ghost is a tormented soul with no physical body and a wraith is a tormented soul that has been brought back using dark magic (then given a physical body; which remains stuck in the space between life-and-death).

Book description:

WRAITH: apparition or a ghost (glossary)

- But Gaius had located the page he wanted. He pointed to the illustration of a skeletal knight. 'It's my guess we're dealing with a wraith. The spirit of a dead man conjured from the grave

Merlin was shocked. 'So this is the work of a sorcerer?*

The doctor nodded. 'Powerful magic can harness the grief and rage of a tormented soul and make it live again.'

Episode 12 - The Fires of Idirsholas; This band of seven wraiths, formerly noble knights whose souls where corrupted by an evil sorcerer, were lethal warriors.

- Because a wraith is not alive, no mortal weapon can kill it.

Question: Nimueh obviously has a bit of control of who dies?

Did something interfered here causing it to be Ygraine?

My answer: It does seem like Nimueh has at least some measure of control over whose life she trades during her life-for-a-life bargains.

Especially, since it states that she ‘ignored Merlin’s request’ to take his life in exchange.

However, I don’t think Nimueh purposely chose to exchange Ygraine’s life, because she genuinely seemed sad over the memory of the queen’s death (at least briefly in the book; during a moment of weakness when her mask slipped).

That scenario likely only happened because when no other life is pre-destined to die, it falls simply to the old religion itself to right the balance.

The book mentions that Nimueh had no idea that her choice to help Uther have an heir would ultimately result in helping to shape events that unite the kingdom and aid magic to be free again - perhaps stronger than ever.

Book description:

Even when directly serving the old religion, Nimuch showed no compassion.

She agreed to save Arthur's life but ignored Merlins request to take his own life in exchange. Instead, she took the life of his mother.

DESTINY:

Nimueh is aware of some aspects of Arthur's destiny - despite her wish for the prince's death, so that Uther is punished, she knows he is not fated to die at her hand.

Yet she doesn't realize that in bringing Arthur into the world, she has helped shape events that may aid magic.

Under Arthur, the kingdom may be united, and magic could be free again - perhaps stronger than before.

- 'She died giving birth to your son! It was not my choice. That is the law of magic. To create a life, there had to be a death. For a second she looked almost sad.

"The balance of the world had to be repaid:

Question: Uther does seem to truly view magic as evil incarnate, but seemingly only after the death of his wife?

My answer: Uther tolerated magic just fine, until he found out the hard way that he couldn’t control it and in the aftermath, he came to conclude that he had been deceived by magic.

It was only then that Uther decided to order that anyone who practiced sorcery was to be put to death.

Book description:

UTHER CONQUERS

Magic was tolerated - after all, it had always been part of the world; who could imagine a land without sorcery?

However, as many rulers had done before, Uther looked on magic as something that could work for him - and found out, as so many others had done, that this was not the case. Magic has its own laws, and cannot be ruled by a mere king.

PERSECUTION

Uther believed that he had been deceived by magic - while it appeared to grant his wish, it did so in a way that would cause him great suffering.

He concluded that all those who practised magic were evil - even if they seemed to use it for benevolent reasons. Anyone connected with sorcery or the old religion was put to death.

Question: I wonder what kinda person Ygraine was that Uther fell so deeply in love with her?

My answer: There’s not really any information about Ygraine and Uther’s married life.

However, the cute, little fatherly scene between Uther and Arthur after the Black Knight duel might have been a glimpse into what his wife had seen once upon a time.

The light hearted scene of a playful man who had a nice sense of humor and a affection for his son hinted at an aspect of Uther’s personality that only his wife had ever been privy too, because with other people, he had to be a strong and hardened warrior.

Book description:

“I'll show you footwork!'

Laughing, Uther rose and aimed a playful kick at his son, who dodged out of the way and headed for the door.

As Arthur left, he realized he hadn't heard his father laugh like that for a very long time.

[tgrailwar-zero]

RICHARD: "This is the time, my friends! Onwards, to victory!"

LANCELOT: "WOOOOOOOHHHH--!!"

GIL: "Right!"

While you noticed that your allies were emboldened- the automaton didn't seem effected. Perhaps because it was a machine, it didn't have any fear towards LIONHEART?

GIL: "Yaaah!"

He thrust his hands forward, portals appearing in an array around the automaton, a barrage of blades and swords raining down on it.

It raised a massive fist to intercept LANCELOT, and you flung out your arms, sending out a shockwave that stunned it. The large mechanical arms dropping down as the knight landed on its' chassis, beginning to draw the weaponry it had stolen from the young king and tear apart the chrome hull.

It seemed like that attack from LANCELOT and GIL, being bolstered by RICHARD, was doing some good damage to the frame of the automaton, as it stumbled backwards.

BLOODY_DRAGOON: "---♪---♩---"

The massive automaton let out another cry as it counterattacked, arms limp, having to find force elsewhere.

And so, the massive dress attached to it began to rotate. Faster and faster, before a barrage of bullets and high-speed lasers were flung outwards.

GIL: "...That's cool!"

RICHARD: "Haha! I agree! But get a hold of yourself!"

You ducked for cover, as RICHARD and GIL ducked behind some of the machinery, as the massive area began to take heavy damage. Pieces of debris fell from the ceiling, and the attack carved through

You watched as LANCELOT was pelted with debris, without a care in the world, keeping up the offensive. The automaton looked down at the Berserker, the hinged mouth opening slightly as a light began to form-- and a beam of energy spewed from the mouth towards the mad warrior.

The knight rolled to the side, leaping from one embedded sword to another, the mouth-beam singing his armor as he dodged.

[ RICHARD took 1 damage! ]

[ GIL took 1 damage! ]

[ LANCELOT took 2 damage! ]

Once the barrage died down, you saw as steam hissed from the arms, the fingers beginning to slowly flex again as they began to carefully recover from the stun.

The machine's wings flared outward, as thrusters slowly began to kick up, the ground surrounding it beginning to tremble and shake as it slowly rose higher and higher off the ground.

RICHARD: "That can not be good."

GIL: "Stay on guard or find a way to ground it before it fully lifts off!"

RICHARD's STATS:

-

ENDURANCE GAUGE: [X/X/X/X/X/- ]

MANA CHARGES: [ X / X / X / - / - ]

COMMAND SPELLS: [ X | X | X ]

HEAT: { - | - | - | - | - }