#reincarnated arthur pendragon

[that-nerd-who-writes-fanfiction]

I got to thinking about mythology and folklore (to absolutely no one’s surprise) and my brain came back to Merlin (also entirely unsurprising)

Merlin would probably know the origins of a lot of myths, right? It’d probably make for some interesting conversations when Arthur gets back.

Arthur, reading about myths and legends: Hey why are unicorns said to be mythical?

Merlin: You shot one and Anhora nearly poisoned you to fix it. I wasn’t about to let it happen again.

—

Arthur: Did you know there’s a monster in Lock Ness?

Merlin: she is not a monster! Aithusa is a total sweetheart. It’s not her fault everyone got grumpy about the existence of dragons.

—

Arthur: Did you know about all the missing shipwrecks here?

Merlin: the first few stories were warnings. I can’t stop people wondering into gateways to other realms. It’s their own stupidity.

—

There’s definitely others but I need sleep.

[cinnabon-sweetroll-tiramisu]

Merlin: You're a vampire.

Vampire Arthur: *smirks* Yes.

Merlin: *loud tired sigh* Oh my god that's lame as fuck.

Vampire Arthur: *offended* Excuse me? I'll have you know—hey wait!

Merlin: I'm going home. Go bother someone else.

Vampire Arthur: *curious* You...don't seem surprised or frightened.

Merlin: *ignoring Arthur as he continues walking*

Vampire Arthur: *following close behind* Have we met before?

Merlin: *stops walking, looks over his shoulder at Arthur* Once upon time we did.

[gyrhs]

This is part of a comic inspired by the preview of Viking Valhalla where Bradley James appears, it’ll be a crossover comic with Merlin, but who knows when it’ll be ready, so, anyway, Viking!Bradley

[keitorin3]

Medici x Merlin Art!

Honestly made this way back this year and forgot to finish it.

I still haven't seen the medici but read about it and looked up the very few crossover fanfics of it and Merlin. Loved them and Guliano.

It's not finish as there are details I haven't cleaned up yet, but...

What do you think?

[justaz]

merthur reincarnation au, merlin is constantly roaming the earth and running into various reincarnations of arthur’s soul. neither know but there is always this draw between them. they’ve met in many different lives with many different dynamics. when do they realize/remember? when arthur’s body is mortally wounded.

in one life they met on the battlefield, leaders of the opposing armies. they often ended up fighting each other and they grew to respect the others tactics and plans. despite being enemies, the level of shared respect grew to an odd fondness. merlin’s rival in his own army grew tired of watching merlin dance with the enemies leader and decided to step in and put an end to it. they attacked arthur from behind and left him for dead. merlin, who saw the whole thing but was too far away to do anything about it, rushed over to be by arthur’s side as he died. arthur took off his helm then and merlin was faced with a man who looked eerily similar to the man who had died just a couple of centuries ago. arthur’s memories began to rush back and he bled out and merlin Knew when arthur stared up at him the same way he had the first time he died. merlin was unable to save him then too.

in another life, merlin had taken to simply roaming, no settling down and no roots. he was homeless and napping on a bench outside a cafe. a woman came out with a bag of perfectly fine baked goods that she was supposed to throw out (dictated by corporate) and she instead brought them over to merlin and set them down by him. merlin woke at the sound of the crinkling bag and met her gaze. it became routine after they closed, she would bring merlin the goods from the day. merlin eventually began to come in and sit at the tables inside every once in a while and talk with her when it was slow. one night, merlin was late to his bench and when he got there the lights were still on and the door was unlocked but he couldn’t see the nice girl who always gave him food. he shuffled in and found her bleeding out from gunshots behind the counter where the cash register had been emptied out. merlin was there for her final breaths and she joked how he could definitely do better than living on the streets. merlin realized who she was as the light left her eyes.

in another life, they were corporate rivals. another they were best friends for five years. another they were pirates and merlin ended up delivering the final blow. another they explored the stars together. etc, etc.

merlin losing him again and again after just finding him. arthur remembering everything right before he dies. a horrible cycle that seems never ending. merlin is forced to live thru the deception arthur suffered over and over again - finding out just who he has known for years is someone else entirely but not having the time to revel in it. arthur suffers the other end of their twisted dynamic of never being able to express his true self until the end wherein death is imminent. the cycle continues for millennia.

eventually, like all things, humans destroy what they had whether it be nuclear war or climate change or what have you, the earth reclaims itself and sends humankind back into their caves. everything there once was is gone and now left with nothing, humans return to their roots. magic flourishes and spreads as new civilizations begin to establish themselves. merlin, oddly enough, hasn’t run into an arthur reincarnation in centuries. not until he ventures into a village and finds a young man toiling in the fields. he dons a face merlin hasn’t seen in millennia. when he looks up and catches merlin’s eye, he smiles wide and calls out for him.

he remembers

[princess-of-morkva]

to find you again

Arthur Pendragon was ten years old when his world finally began to make sense.

It was in his fifth grade, when his class went on a week long camping trip. He didn't know, at the time, what compelled him to sneak out of the tent in the wee hours of the morning, when the first rays of dawn lit up the treetops and his legs carried him towards the shore of a lake. It's surface was shimmering in morning light, and he could feel his breath halt, afraid to disturb the serenity of the sight that felt so otherworldly. It may have been some divine compulsion or simply his innate, childish desire to explore that made him go further, then, until his rubber flipflops were left on the shore and his bare feet touched the water.

There was a hand then, that rose out of the water, translucent and not entirely present, an image out of mist. There was a hand, and then another, and then the head and the body — a figure arose from the lake, smiling at the little boy that intruded her realm.

"Hello, Arthur." She spoke, and her voice didn't carry through the air like a human's would, rather, it sang with the wind, hit the ears like tiny drops meeting the water. "It's good to meet you at last."

He stared at her, for a long moment, before answering.

"How do you know me?" He frowned at her. Father told him not to talk to strangers, and this might have been a very pretty woman made out of mist, but she was still very much a stranger. Still, he didn't step out of the lake, for his curiosity was much greater than his father's teachings which felt so far away at the moment, and there was no one around to see anyway.

"The world speaks to me. I can't leave this lake, but I can see far beyond it." Her answer was not an answer at all, Arthur thought. His confusion must've been evident, because she smiled at him again, and there was a mischievous hint in the corner of her lips that made her look not so much like a spirit in a lake but a living and breathing young girl, but the next second it was gone and Arthur was left to wonder if he imagined it entirely.

"Why can't you?" He asked.

"It's were I was put to rest." She spoke the words so evenly, as all of the things she previously said, that it took Arthur a few seconds to catch the meaning of it.

"Does that mean you're dead?" He asked, hoping not to offend her with it.

"Not exactly. I'm here, aren't I?" Once again, her answer gave more questions than it answered.

"There are ghosts." He said. Arthur wasn't sure there were, actually. His father didn't believe in such things.

"I am different from ghosts."

"What are you then?"

"A guardian."

Arthur nodded, as if it made perfect sense. It didn't.

"Do you have a name?" He asked. It was only polite to ask for a person's name when first meeting them. Than again, lake-guardian-spirits could have entirely different etiquette.

"I was called Freya, once." There was a small smile, again.

Arthur nodded musingly.

"It's a pretty name."

She hummed.

"Do you often speak to people?" He never heard of such entities as her. It couldn't have been a common occurrence, surely. But wouldn't that be lonely? Having no one to talk to?

She shook her head, and there was a wistful look in her eyes.

"I haven't spoken to anybody in centuries." That couldn't have been nice, Arthur thinks. If she could speak to him, why didn't she speak to others?

"Why'd you speak to me than?" Freya didn't answer immediately, pausing the flow of their measured back-and-forth. It almost looked like she was unsure, but her features were still so calm, it was impossible to tell.

Then, she asked. "Do you have dreams, sometimes?"

It was a silly question. Everybody had dreams. Arthur understood immediately though, it wasn't the regular kind of dreams she was talking about.

Because the thing is, Arthur did have dreams. Ever since he was little. He remembers dreaming of white towers and battlements, of bright red banners and capes. Of metal clanging and laughter and a weight of a sword in his hand, on his hip. Of familiar faces he could never quite place. Of raven curls and bright blue eyes, especially often.

He never told his father about them — he'd call such things foolish. Arthur didn't think they were.

Arthur looked at Freya and nodded. There was a glim of relief in her eyes, he thought.

"Would you like to see more?" She asked, offering him her hand. Not solid in any common way of the world but in that moment, more real than any other thing around them.

Arthur didn't think twice before grasping it.

-----

please tell me if you'd like to see more of it because i love the thing in my head so far

where is merlin in it? he's gonna be there. with a twist. it's a reincarnation fic but with a twist. it's also very merthur. or as much as it can ever get with my aromantic ass.

also it's modern au but i still haven't decided on a more specific setting- should i do college au? i'd be horrible at it even though it would make sense thematically- i haven't been outside in years how does society function? how do i write it?

can you see i love freya? i love her very much

[gldnstrngs]

ive heard people say that nick and charlie from heartstopper are based on merthur and idk if thats true but i rlly wouldnt be surprised if that were the case

[hopelessromantic5]

This one’s been on the shelf for a while.

Merthur modern AU-ish clip. Reincarnation-ish.

Enjoy.

“I don’t like this, Arthur.”

Turning to his best friend in concern, because he’d never heard that specific tone before, the blonde asks,

“What’s wrong?”

“Just something about this feels…very sad.” He pauses for a moment, eyes searching out over the perfect blue lake. Serene in its quiet.

That is, until the feeling starts creeping over Arthur too. Like a shadow moving closer of its own volition.

Merlin continues,

“It feels like…”

“Grief.” Arthur finishes for him, no more than a whisper to his voice. “It feels like grief.” After all he’s felt this before.

For his mother. It was so long ago now, but this exact feeling still catches him off guard on his best days.

As if reading his thoughts, Merlin speaks softly to him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-“

“You didn’t. I will always remind me of her. The real question is, why does this place seem to perspire sadness?”

“I don’t know.” Merlin says looking out again.

Suddenly he’s walking, without thinking twice, the raven haired boy is at the water’s edge in less than a second.

Arthur slowly comes to his side. Looking out at the water, trying to decipher its message.

“It’s the strangest feeling.” Merlin says, to no one in particular.

“Like we’ve been here before.” Arthur doesn’t know how he knows. But he definitely knows that he and Merlin stood on this same patch of grass, some time ago.

“Maybe we should-“

“No.” Merlin shakes his head vehemently. “No, I don’t want to go in.”

“Why?” Arthur whispers looking at his best friend. His other half, really.

“Whatever happened here-“ his voice breaks off as he chokes on a quiet sob. Merlin is never one to outwardly show his melancholy. “I don’t want it to happen again.”

“It’s not going to, Merlin. We’ll go in together, alright? I’ll hold your hand every step.” He reaches out and tugs at Merlin’s long pale fingers, currently wrapped around his torso in self-comfort. “I don’t know how I know but…the water will give us the answers.” He says, hovering his hand just above its surface. “It knows us.”

“What if it takes you, again?” Arthur wouldn’t have heard it if he wasn’t a step away.

“It won’t.” He states with all the conviction he possesses. “I won’t leave you here, again.”

Neither of them knows where these words came from or what they speak of, but in that moment, there is an understanding. Similar to the one they’d had all their mortal lives, but it is deeper somehow. Thicker with death and heartache. Covered in the cobwebs of time.

Slowly, Arthur steps his bare foot into the shallow water, tugging Merlin in with him.

It isn’t until Merlin’s skin touches the lake, that it all comes rushing back.

A castle, armor and swords, an unjust King, the day they met. Bickering words and sly comments that made Arthur smile blindingly at the thought. Then there was adventure. Into the forrest on a great white steed, always with his closest confidant next to him. Then there’s a vision of a golden bathed room, surrounded by all the people he loves and cherishes, as Geoffrey placed a crown of gold upon his head.

At last, the end. Sentimental words shared with the only person he cared to see him in that state. The only person he ever trusted with his heart.

And then nothing. Blackness. The last thing he remembered was Merlin’s heartbroken cry, and the calm lapping of lake waves on the shore.

There is a gasp and he is back in the present, still holding Merlin’s hand. But Arthur remembers. And he knows Merlin does too, by the look of sheer shock and adoration on his face.

“Arthur, I-“

“I know, Merlin. I’m sorry it took so long.”

[giacarem]

listen, i need a “arthur returns” fic where Merlin keeps expecting Arthur to rise from Lake Avalon after all these years and so he builds a house right next to it, but nothing ever happens. It’s okay, he keeps living there and having his cottage there, but at some point he stops hoping and moves away

he keeps the cottage there, of course, and he visits it every year on the anniversary of Arthur’s death

Lake Avalon also becomes a popular romantic getaway sight, and Merlin can’t stand to see all the happy couples constantly

Years later, he meets a reincarnated Arthur, and is incredibly confused as to why Arthur has not risen from the lake like he expected

no matter, Arthur gains his memories back and him and Merlin talk about everything and then Merlin confesses

Merlin: You know, I always expected you to rise from Lake Avalon. I built a house there and waited for you

Arthur: You mean, that lake?

Merlin: Yeah

Arthur: Umm. Well. This is awkward.

Merlin: What?

Arthur: I have it on good authority that, you see. Lake Avalon is a beautiful tourist place now

Merlin: Yes I’m aware

Arthur: Well, you see. My parents went there on a holiday the year before I was born. And… well I’m not the best at math but I can count nine months and…

Merlin bursts out laughing when he realises, and saves Arthur the embarrassment of having to continue

And when the anniversary of Arthur’s death comes around again, Merlin has no need to return to that lake

[sunsetcurveauto]

ORESTES: Where have I seen you before?

MOIRA: In a dream.

ORESTES: A thousand years ago.

— Euripides (trans. Anne Carson)

[that-nerd-who-writes-fanfiction]

Headcanon that Merlin saved a lot of stuff from Camelot for when Arthur returned.

Including Arthur’s favourite wine.

But, with everything else that he was dealing with, he overlooked the fact that wine ages.

So when Arthur gets back and Merlin gets all his things out of storage, he and Arthur get way too drunk on one glass of wine each.

Like, unreasonably extremely pissed kind of drunk.

They both swear off alcohol forever after that

[cinnabon-sweetroll-tiramisu]

Merlin: You want me to do what?

Vampire Arthur: Go as my date? Just for one night.

Merlin: Okay...Arthur you got a shifty look about you now.

Vampire Arthur: [coughs] Well you see, since it's Halloween, we'd be in costume, obviously I'll be a vampire King and you my dear will be dressed...in this! [Holds up a lovely black and red gothic dress] Fit for a queen! [Smiles, fangs showing]

Merlin: [smacks forehead] You are insufferable.

[raviraaa]

the once & future king [au]

audio edit by epxphany | random merlin prompts #3.2

how it's meant to be, you held the key.

now promise me you'll never leave.

time slipped away, we stayed the same.

picked up where we left off, like you were never gone

you were always coming home

[keitorin3]

Medici x Merlin Short

Merlin: *Meets Giuliano and is not impressed*

Giuliano: Do I know you?

Merlin: I sure hope not, or you'll most likely be seeing too much of me.

Giuliano: *Confused but intrigued* And why is that?

Merlin: Because I'd have done something stupid for the right reasons and somehow be rewarded with being your servant.

Giuliano: *A silent pause*... That's oddly specific.

Merlin: Believe me, with my luck, it'll happen within a day.

Giuliano: *Dumbfounded*

After a lot of drinks in the tavern where they met, a fight was avoided and one whole, less bloody, Giuliano was escorted home.

Lorenzo: You have done a great deed in returning my brother home whole and without injury, when you did not need to stranger. I offer you a place in our household. Work for us and you shall be rewarded with a high pay for your service to my brother.

Merlin: *Turns to Giuliano* See what I mean?

Giuliano: *Surprised* Brother!

Merlin: *Stares back at a confused Lorenzo* I'd like to have 2 days a week for myself and you've got a deal.

Lorenzo: Brilliant, you're hired.

Giuliano: *Making a fuss drunkenly* I'm right here, don't I get a say in this!?

Merlin: Of course Messieur, your the boss after all. Now let's see how badly of a room I'll be dealing with for the foreseeable future. *Helps support Giuliano while given directions by someone*

Giuliano: What!? Are you calling my room a mess?! You can't talk about me that way! *He whines childishly yet not shoving or pushing Merlin away.*

Merlin: Of course not Messieur. Never would dream of such Messieur.

Giuliano: *angry pouts* Sarcasm I see.

Merlin: Now I'm sure you're just seeing things Messieur. *Sarcasm drips from his tone. As he tries to hold back a smirk*

Giuliano: *Understands the tone and argues back.*

They did not notice or acknowledge the bewildered stares of the Medici members behind them, as they bantered like old time friends.

LATER IN GIULIANOS ROOM:

Giuliano: Hey, you never told me your name before.

Merlin: Ah? Oh I didn't, did I. Well, it's Merlin.

Giuliano: Merlin. What kind of name is that?

Merlin: *dead pans* English.

Giuliano: It's a dumb name.

Merlin: Like Giuliano?

Giuliano: *Whispers* Like your dumb face.

Merlin: I heard that.

(This was fun to make. What do you think?)

[ebonyfirewolf]

[gldnstrngs]

going to speak my truth and say that i dont think merlin would be a slytherin in the hp universe

jk r*wling is most definitely at fault for this bc why are each of the houses based on such surface level personality traits… merlin could definitely work as a slytherin but i think he’s more likely to be ravenclaw partly bc of the bird symbolism and color scheme

but also just the fact that merlin is so passionate when it comes to the people he loves. it’s not just loyalty like hufflepuff, but the innate need to make sacrifices for those people

merlin is also wise beyond his years, even if he is a little silly at times. and, yes, he has made bad decisions, but that doesnt take away how he has done his best to learn from his mistakes. also arthur always seeks merlin’s counsel before anyone else because, no matter how much he may say otherwise, he knows how thoughtful and intuitive merlin is

i am forever a ravenclaw!merlin truther! i really do think it fits better with his character than being a slytherin. and thats not just because slytherins are associated with being evil— their attributes are things like wittiness and determination, which definitely falls in line with merlin, but it doesnt really feel like him. even before morgana turned evil, she still perfectly suited being a slytherin because of how sharp and witty she was, but also because of her passion and determination to do whats right

idk if i can describe it any better but it really is just that slytherin doesnt feel like merlin the way ravenclaw does…

obvs arthur would be gryffindor and i think gwen would be a hufflepuff tho