#tkn Merlin

[thekingofthenameless]

Could you tell me your process in designing Merlin and Charlie, both in aesthetics and personalities? You mentioned in your Q&A post about the design changes so I’m intrigued in your thought process!

Thanks for the ask! :D

My memory is shit so I had to go through old Discord messages for this lmaooo, but it was fun! …When I wasn’t dying due to cringe.

For those who don’t know, these two are Tales of Arcadia’s Merlin, and Tales of Arcadia’s Charlie! Aka the two that started all this.

Merlin:

Back when The King of the Nameless was still a ToA fanfiction, (titled Emerald Embers), I didn’t have plans to change Merlin that much at first, besides giving him a long white ponytail (inspired by his concept art), some earrings, and the outfit that @tenyai drew in some storyboard explorations!

After some time passed, I decided to make him look more intimidating to better fit his role as someone who’s been through war for most of his life. I was inspired by this concept art! I thought he looked really cool, and it’s still my favorite storyboard version of him.

A few months later my Artbreeder era started when I wanted to make him myself. We don’t talk about that.

Eventually, I got a design commissioned!

By this point, I’d had the idea to depict him with darker skin, but he didn’t have a defined race (I accepted @aaronwaltke’s headcanon/idea of him being so old nationalities weren’t a thing yet.)

Time passed, and I went on my unintentional but helpful hiatus for several months before coming back.

Once I started revisiting the yet to be retitled Emerald Embers, I had the idea to redesign Merlin again.

I had watched this TikTok, and afterwards, for some reason, got curious and decided to look up if locs with white hair exist (they do, of course, I was just making sure I wasn’t being stupid).

The idea was also partly from me realizing that Merlin being ambiguously brown without a defined race wasn’t… good, even with his “age”. The trope of characters without a defined race is really common, and a bit problematic, so it would be cool to have a clearly Black protagonist. I was already getting heavily attached to the concept when I approached my boyfriend with it, and I tried to convince him to tell me redesigning him again was a bad idea, but I don’t think I would’ve listened even if he had told me lol.

I also remembered Once Upon A Time’s Merlin, who’s Black, and that helped convince me more!

About a week later, I was making Picrews while planning to commission someone eventually!

I finally approached his original artist after searching for one a bit, because I saw one of their posts on Reddit and loved their art style!

After a few renditions, Merlin had a set design at last!

Or… so I thought, lol. I’d wanted Merlin to have an undercut on every side of his head, like an au of Adora where she has the hairstyle, and his locs actually going halfway down his back. I basically gaslighted myself into forgetting that when his first artist drew it short. 💀 Maybe he started growing it out and shaved the rest of his head after he turned immortal or something lol.

Anyways, got into contact with his current design’s artist. While looking up references for his body type (even though I had one already, so I don’t know why I did that lol), I found his current body type and was like “Perfect”.

And his hair is actually longer than I’d planned! :D Fully down, I think it would reach his knees or possibly longer.

Then him being a transgender man grabbed me by the throat, and I eventually came up with a design for how he looked when he found Charlie!

He was physically twelve at this point, but chronologically sixty-four. (Almost thirteen and sixty-five lol. He transitioned when he was sixteen physically, chronologically eighty.)

So, in a summary, Merlin has gone from cisgender white ➡️ cisgender ambiguously brown skinned (glad I changed that lol) ➡️ cisgender Black ➡️ transgender Black.

He’s changed so much lol.

And something I find funny about DR!Merlin's design vs TKN Merlin: the latter Merlin is just. ONE inch taller now. 6'8" compared to 6'7".

Also I’ll end this with the point that technically, his appearance is never described in original Arthurian text, so he can look like whatever I want him to. ;)

Charlie:

Finally onto the best boy!!

After getting my first adoptable, a dragon named Mantis, I looked at ToA Charlie again and just went “😬”

Alongside him being a little bit too humanoid for my taste, (and his neck proportions taking me out, lol) his wings being leathery with holes in them made me annoyed because they logically should have repaired themselves; as long as a bat has proper rest and nutrition, tears in their wings can heal on their own without medical attention. With as many holes as he has, he obviously shouldn’t be able to fly.

Anyways, thought of redesigning him for a bit, but never had any fleshed out concepts of anything since dragon Picrews are unfortunately hard to come by.

Then I got this dragon adoptable!

Apparently about three minutes later, I thought: what if that was the redesign for Charlie? I ran with it, and that’s how this dragon became Charlie! Still ToA at this point, lol.

(Me deciding an adoptable is perfect for a character design, actually, was what happened with Morgana too but we’ll talk about her later.)

Later, I saw an awesome unicorn adoptable and wondered if it was still open, so I contacted Charlie’s second artist! It wasn’t, so I asked if I could get a commission instead since some slots were available.

If I remember right, I asked for him to be in a flying pose, and after a traditional sketch I loved immediately, it was onto digital, then coloring! He got a little bit of a redesign, lol; I love how his colors seem far more vibrant, and how his wings actually look like lava! :D

Somewhere along the line, I decided the swirls and leaves on his leg would be his familiar mark!

Time passed, and The King of the Nameless started coming to life. I asked Reddit for new name suggestions for Charlie because I thought I shouldn't/couldn't keep the same name; got absolutely great suggestions like Fred, Scorch (also fun fact that's referenced in this oneshot lol), and... Jarred. No, I'm not kidding. Gave up on Reddit and Googled male dragon names before going to a generator. That gave me the amazing name Tyson, and hell yeah, I'm absolutely gonna name an ancient dragon after chicken nuggets! (It's actually derived from the Old French word "tison", or "firebrand", but admit it, the chicken nuggets is funnier.) I even thought of naming him Falkor after the dragon in The Neverending Story lol.

But Falkor didn't stick. No matter how hard I tried, my brain refused to latch onto the name, and I always kept internally referring to my dragon as Charlie. I tried to think of more new names, but nothing would come to mind, and at one point the only name I could think of was Adam. Eventually my boyfriend just said "as long as you don't name him Charlemagne from Tales of Arcadia you'll be fine".

So after all that, Charlie he stayed!

Some more time passed, and I got my first commission of Merlin and Charlie in the same picture!

He was unintentionally drawn as pretty small since I forgot to send size references at first lol.

Got two more pieces! He was pretty much consistent size wise for these two.

I started getting a fourth piece of them together, using an incredible sketch I made for the artist to have as a reference that I should post against the final art like this post lol.

And when I got the sketch, Charlie was BIG, far bigger than before.

Debated on it keeping it his new size or not for a little bit until I was like: "fuck it we ball the other arts are in the past and this is present". (Also Merl's hair isn't long in most pieces anyway lol.)

Bro's like. the size of a car now.

Something I thought funny that applies to both of their designs: just like Merlin’s hair got longer and longer (although I wanted it halfway down his back in the first place and forgot) Charlie’s gotten bigger and bigger lol.

Commissioned another piece with Charlie's new size!

Another thing about Charlie's design I find funny: he's bigger than ToA Charlie now.

That concludes the epic saga of their design changes, and now they're both set in stone! They really are. I promise.

Artist credits: @undeadchestnut, @honeyxmonkey, Soberana Art (on Artstation), @cat-gh0ul, NaldThal (on Ko-Fi), @heropaws, @biposi, @honeyxmonkey, @theeio, @azurewildflight

Picrew credits: djarn, romanapologist/hotvanilla, brightgoat

Links to their individual posts, if applicable: ToA Merlin’s concept art (1, 2, 3, 4), Merlin’s original hair (1, 2, 3), ToA Merlin’s medieval outfit, The Original Tiktok, White locs (1, 2, 3), Adora undercut au, Merlin’s original body type, Merlin’s current body type, Current Merlin, Trans Merlin, Mantis the dragon, Original Charlie, Charlie's name fiasco (on Reddit), Forest, Cuddles, Sploot, Embrace, Meadow. (also a few more links throughout the post lol)

Taglist: @gaylightisminetocommand, @the-arson-author-gamer, @honeyxmonkey, @danhengsbestie

[honeyxmonkey]

Commission for @thekingofthenameless !

A Merlin and Charlie for you my dear💜

[azurewildflight]

Commission for @thekingofthenameless

The lovely Merlin with his familar Charlie!

I had a lot of fun creating this piece

Thanks again, @thekingofthenameless for the commission!

[thekingofthenameless]

Doing this for Merlin and Charlie! :D

50 Questions to Ask About Your OC

had some help from some friends to make up fifty pretty in-depth questions to get to know your OCs better! feel free to reblog this as an ask game or use it to develop your own crew

1. Are they happy with their body? 2. Do they have any secret piercings or tattoos? 3. Do they collect anything? 4. What is their favorite music genre? 5. What music genre, if any, do they hate the most? 6. What is their phone background/lock screen? 7. What is their shoe size? 8. Do they have a favorite fabric or texture? 9. Do they have a favorite professional sport? 10. How do they decorate their living space? 11. Are they messy, or do they clean up? 12. What’s their preferred sleeping position? 13. Did they have a favorite comfort item as a child? 14. Do they have a favorite period in history? 15. Can they cook? What’s their favorite thing to make? 16. What food do they hate eating? 17. Do they have any allergies? 18. What was their worst injury? 19. What movie is most likely to make them cry? 20. What movie or book could they watch/read a hundred times and never get tired of? 21. Can they dance? Do they like to? 22. What was their favorite birthday gift? 23. Which birthday do they look back on the most fondly? 24. What kind of cake or birthday treat would they prefer? 25. What is their favorite animal? 26. Do they wear perfume/cologne? What is their favorite scent? 27. What smell do they hate the most? 28. What sound do they hate the most? 29. What video game would appeal to them the best? 30. How would they relax on a day off/rainy day? 31. Are they combative? What is their fighting style? 32. Would they be the one to start an argument? 33. What is their personal style? Favorite outfit? 34. Do they have a dream job? 35. What do they do if they can’t fall asleep? 36. Do they wear makeup regularly? If they don’t, would they consider wearing any? 37. Do they prefer to be really cold or really warm? 38. What recurring dream do they keep having? 39. Can they drive? What vehicles are they licensed to operate? 40. Do they believe in true love? Have they experienced it? 41. Are they married? Do they want to be? 42. If they have siblings, do they like any of them? Would they rather be an only child? 43. What do they think is their worst quality? What is their actual worst quality? 44. Do they lie often? Are they good at it? 45. Are they good at keeping secrets? 46. How do others see them? How accurate is it to how they really are? 47. What kind of first impression do they usually make? 48. What are they most afraid of? 49. Would they ever kill anybody? 50. Do they have original characters of their own?

[thekingofthenameless]

I’M BACK

And I’m rebranding everything.

Profile picture change, username change (in a few days), etc.

talesofarcadiaforever -> thekingofthenameless

I took a long hiatus from writing and Tumblr in general because of bad burnout and putting expectations on myself that I shouldn’t have. Ha. But I’m back! And good news! I started writing again! Better news?

I decided to officially discontinue Emerald Embers and the Daylight’s Redemption series and write my own book.

I was already making everything so different from ToA that it was practically an alternate universe already: redesigning Merlin, making Merlin and Charlie familiars, adding magical species that weren’t explicitly in canon, completely changing other characters… I still love ToA, but I’m not hyperfixated on it anymore. And that’s okay. I was so scared of letting go for a long time, but I’m happy with my decision.

My wip is now called The King of the Nameless!

Currently, there are five main characters, and tidbits about each of them will be a little further down. (Except for one guy. He sucks.) Their attempted designs will also be down there.

In some aspects, it probably hasn’t changed too much. I’m still basing it off of Arthurian Legends, and Merlin is still the protagonist. But I redesigned him. Again.

The deuteragonist is Charlie; he and Merlin are still familiars. I tried several different names for him, but none of them would stick for him no matter how hard I tried; so Charlie the dragon he stays. But he now has the last name Ambrosius to reflect that he and Merlin are found family as well.

The other three characters in this stage of the story are Igraine, Gorlois, and Uther.

Igraine is Arthur and Morgana’s mother in the Arthurian Legends, (which I did not know at first and was wondering how Arthur and Morgana were half-siblings because they have different fathers…) and will stay the same here. I couldn’t find any official last name for her besides Pendragon from when she marries Uther? (Which is not going to happen here.) So I gave her and her husband the last name “le Fay” to match their daughter!

Gorlois is Igraine’s husband, and like I said, is Morgana’s father. However, unlike some media, he’s not going to be portrayed as a jealous and abusive husband. He’s the epitome of the “I love my wife” guy.

Uther is… a piece of work, to say the least. He’s the character who’s going to have a separate post because of triggering topics that I don’t want in this post.

I’m also going to make a separate post for upcoming characters, which include Nimue, Morgana, Arthur, etc.

Bear with me on lore and designs though please (I’m still working on the lore and I’m not sure if these will be their permanent designs except for Charlie). Some of it might be just random babble until I decide on something 😭 You’ll definitely be able to tell which characters I think about most ahaha.

Anyways, in more good news, I don’t use Artbreeder anymore. I attempt to use Picrews, but sometimes they don’t have everything I want, so I also use character creators from video games. If I could use Baldur’s Gate 3’s, I definitely would, but I’d have to spend like $600-ish to get something to play it on and get the game. 😑 I could also play it with my boyfriend, but our schedules are so busy with both of us working that’s it not really a convenient option.

But there is a game called Dragon’s Dogma, and I’ve been using that one! It’s an older game, so it doesn’t really have many fantasy character options, but it’s good enough for human characters lol. I made Igraine and Gorlois with it, and a few other characters yet to be posted.

Design and lore time!

Merlin:

This is him at the beginning of TKN! Expect more art of him eventually.

• 6' 8"

• “my son crump he has every disease”: schizophrenia, C-PTSD, misophonia

• is still a cambion like in the Arthurian Legends (specifically half-human, half-demon)

• was supposed to be the Anti-Christ (also like in the Legends)

• is also a romance and sex repulsed, non-partnering aroace <3.

• usually excudes a regal, dignified presence, and his preference for flowing outfits helps

• may seem slightly formal with strangers, but on a good day where he can clock their personality, he’ll either warm up to them quickly, or distance himself, depending on the person

• has a strong sense of justice, which also makes him anti-authoritarian for the most part. (unless they’ve actually proven that they’re not just in their position for the power of it, or because of nepotism; and really do want to help people.)

• extremely loyal

• highly empathetic; cries easily

• has a lot of trauma, but is still kind because he’s not going to make people suffer just because he did

• adrenaline junkie in regards to flying with Charlie

• Doesn’t kill if not necessary.

• Is very punctual. If you tell him to come at 5 he’ll be there at 4:30. At most.

Charlie:

• 6' 6" (top of muzzle)

• 7' 3" (top of head)

• the marking on his leg is his familiar mark!

• still nice, seems a little rougher around the edges than Merlin

• says the things that his wizard thinks but won’t say, and doesn’t hide that he stares people down while gauging their character. he sometimes won’t care that he sounds mean or very direct either

• very protective of his familiar and is intensely loyal to him. isn’t really willing to leave the latter alone with people they don’t really know because of people attempting to take advantage of his schizophrenia in the past, gaslighting him into thinking that their actions weren’t real and were things he hallucinated/imagined

• Do no harm but take no shit

• Far more willing to kill than Merlin

• “Hey do you want me to kill that guy for you? Because it sounds like he sucks and I will totally kill that guy for you.”

• (I guess he technically counts as an emotional support animal but like. he’s sentient so idk 😭)

• is an omnivore (most dragons are, but he eats more human food than them from growing up and staying around them.)

Igriane:

• 6' 5"

• a wizard!

• was originally a red head before I realized that oh yeah. Morgana has brown hair, and a ginger and blonde would definitely not for the most part have a brunette kid

• purple eyes (haven’t decided if I’m gonna stay with this concept, but I like the idea of all wizards having some type of heterochromia, or technicolor eyes to show that they have magic)

Gorlois:

• 6' 0"

• he doesn’t have any type of unique eye color yet because I didn’t have the concept of that for wizards yet, and still not sure if I’m gonna keep it so. blue eyes for now

• again I say he’s the “I love my wife” guy!!

• also a wizard (which is where Morgana gets her magic when she’s born. You have two parents with magic you’re like. guaranteed to have magic.)

• maybe not really much of a fighter? Would probably use some type of sword if he was.

Wow that was so much lore. 👍 If anyone wants to talk to me about my ocs or suggest ideas, my ask box is always open! (And I love love love getting asks)

Artist credits!

Merlin:

Charlie’s original artist:

Charlie’s second artist:

Charlie’s saddle:

[thekingofthenameless]

“I am not leaving you. I am never leaving you.”

Post credits: marsadist (on Twitter) handotcom, slytherverse, virtualplushy, lalaluune (on Twitter)

Artist credits: biposi, honeyxmonkey (1, 2) azurewildflight, and theeio

[thekingofthenameless]

i saw your DILFFFFFF merlin (i believe that was his name yes? long dreads, dark skin, absolute dilf?) and i want to know everything now literally everything. specifically a compilation of all your favourite quotes from him pls and thank you :)))

Thanks for the question @thecomfywriter! :D

My current description of him (in a nutshell). Black trans aroace icon. Would probably look good in anything and has endless drip in his regular outfit. A highly empathetic, dignified, mellow, and smart person who struggles with schizophrenia, psychosis (as a result of his schizophrenia), anxiety, C-PTSD, and misophonia, but is still kind because he doesn’t want others to suffer what he’s been through. Secretly the God of Magic walking among mortals. Raised a literal dragon.

He’s so cool and pretty <3

Telling you everything would take a while, and might also contain a more than few spoilers (and I'm also hosting a Q&A currently which would ruin the purpose lol), but here's my Ao3! I have nine chapters of oneshots at the moment, and more to come. :D And of course, you're free to participate in the Q&A!

Here are a few of my favorite Merlin quotes from my published oneshots (in the chronological order they take place, not in the chronological order I wrote them lol). I probably have more, both from the published writing, and from unpublished writing I actually like sitting around, but... I'll be honest; I can't be bothered to look for it at the moment lol.

“Sorry,” his savior answered, not sounding sorry at all.

“Charlemagne?” Ganieda repeated incredulously. “Oh, I’m sorry, would you rather have me name him Scorch?” Merlin shot back.

“Maybe I should have introduced you to them,” Merlin idly mused while using the potion. “But I for all I know, Ganieda would have found that even stranger… she’s my younger sister, by the way. Two years younger, in fact, even if she is an adult and married, because for some reason, I age extremely slowly. Every five years is one year of aging. I wonder if you age slowly too?” Merlin wondered, and how did Merlin keep guessing and end up being right? Maybe it was luck, and if so, then maybe things would be better than they ever were with [Charlie's] parents. He'd be lucky enough to stay, he'd be lucky enough to grow up... Merlin kept talking, obviously not knowing his thoughts. “The woman you hadn’t met is Vivian, and she and Ganieda are married. Or you’d probably say they’re mates, now that I think about it. Either way, it’s completely disgusting, as I said. Everyone keeps saying ‘Oh, you’ll be next, Merlin, and you won’t find it disgusting when you find that special someone!’ No, fuck that.” The sudden outburst of language made him want to burst out laughing, but all he could manage was a little rumble. “Seriously, I don’t understand it! ‘You’ll understand when you’re older, Merlin,’- I’m sixty-five, so I’m not sure when I’ll understand. But who knows? Maybe now that I have you, they’ll stop teasing me about it. I can hope, at least.”

“Oh, sweetheart, I’m so glad you’re all right,” he whispers even though the dragon shows no signs of waking.

“Um- yes,” Merlin replies after a moment of them all just staring at each other. Then he turns back to the dragon, murmuring, “Shh. Are you hurt?”

“I know. I know. It’s all right,” Merlin replies, pressing relieved kisses into the parts of his head not covered in blood. “I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“[Charlie’s] not a pet,” Merlin snaps immediately, eyes shining brightly even behind his glasses, and the sudden change in mood is enough to put her hands up in surrender.

Taglist: @gaylightisminetocommand, @the-arson-author-gamer, @honeyxmonkey, @danhengsbestie

[thekingofthenameless]

“Traumatized Mentally Ill Trans Male Protagonist Who Has The Best Dragon Ever Tries To Stop The Creepy Asshole King From Ruining Everything”

Explain your work in progress badly:

“Only this ragtag band of plucky teenagers have got the gumption to stop the second coming of Christ”

[thekingofthenameless]

Merlin and Uther tbh

Image credits: Original Tiktok, Original Tweet

Taglist: @gaylightisminetocommand, @the-arson-author-gamer, @honeyxmonkey, @danhengsbestie

[thekingofthenameless]

I HAVE 1,000 FOLLOWERS!!! Thank you guys so much 🥺

First banner is made by @honeyxmonkey :D

Second one is made by ✨yours truly✨

To celebrate, I’m going to do a Q&A about TKN! (TKN is an abbreviation for my original work, The King of the Nameless.) It isn’t fanfiction, lol. Please don’t call it a fic.

I’ve been writing for four years, give or take? Before TKN, I was writing a fanfiction based on Tales of Arcadia, and it kept straying further away from canon, especially in regards to Merlin and Charlie. I had trouble actually completing a chapter, making drafts again and again until I took an unintentional hiatus after getting a ton of burnout.

I finally came back in January of this year, and while I’d actually had the idea of making the formerly titled Emerald Embers an original story for a while, this time it wouldn’t let go. It took about three days before I said “screw it” and started revamping everything.

And then I had trouble completing anything for this too 😭. I finally just decided to do some of this year’s writing events and not worry about continuity for now: Flufftober and Angstober! I also have a draft for Whumptober eventually lol.

My Ao3!

Sorry if this seems like meaningless blather to some of y’all, but I’m sick of somehow still being known for ToA, and by extent, Emerald Embers. ToA, I don’t mind as much, because I do still like the series and reblog content occasionally. But with Emerald Embers, I do. I was fifteen years old when I started that, and it’s been discontinued for about nine months. I had two ToA related likes yesterday, and one of them was for Emerald Embers, and I don’t know how y’all keep finding it but I do not want to be known for that. I meant to keep it up as an archive, but I’m getting annoyed with the people who somehow find EE content, and then only like that and nothing else… at least most people know TKN isn’t a ToA fanfiction now?

Anyways, the two main characters:

Merlin Caledonensis Ambrosius. Black trans aroace icon. Would probably look good in anything and has endless drip in his regular outfit. A highly empathetic, dignified, mellow, and smart person who struggles with schizophrenia, psychosis (as a result of his schizophrenia), anxiety, C-PTSD, and misophonia, but is still kind because he doesn’t want others to suffer what he’s been through. Secretly the God of Magic walking among mortals. Raised a literal dragon.

Charlemagne William Ambrosius. Giant dragon. Serious, brave, protective (of Merlin), compassionate (towards Merlin), as well as fierce but loving and loyal, who sometimes takes a little bit longer to care about people due to personality differences. Will readily state his opinions and start arguments without caring. Has no qualms about staring people down while gauging their personality and threat level. Was at first completely normal but is now Fucked Up too.

And here’s the (current) blurb describing TKN! Idk if it’ll fit eventually lol

The King of the Nameless is an adaptation of Arthurian Legend, except… it takes place in an entirely fantasy world. Wizards, demons, dragons, mermaids, and spirits are just five of the magical creatures that inhabit Galdorcræft. Alongside magic being everywhere, corruption runs just as deep in the country of Avalon. Seaside towns that imported benign items like silk are now infamous for attracting contract killers and magic hunters. The idea of murdering magical creatures for their body parts, as well being a falsely presumed threat to humanity, is slowly becoming more widespread through rumors of what their magic can do to heal and harm, no matter how much Merlin Ambrosius tries to stop it. He’s a wizard himself, of course. Everybody knows that. What they don’t know is that he’s hiding a lot of secrets: being the God of Magic and Justice, being born a girl, and trying to cope with madness that makes it difficult to tell falsehoods from reality, for one thing. However, he has his dragon familiar and found family, Charlemagne Ambrosius, to keep him grounded and understand him when no one else will. Unbeknownst to them, the very heart of corruption is in Camelot itself. Uther Pendragon has just become king after his father’s death, and he’s been waiting for this. Maybe now that he’s ruling, he can finally kill Merlin and rid himself of the rebellious, soft, mad advisor. With the most powerful wizard in the land dead, then no one will be able to stop him from killing the monsters that plague it.

Art dump of Merlin and Charlie! You can see how much they’ve both changed from their original designs (first images for both) lol.

Rules for the Q&A:

In order to participate, you don’t have to be following me! Just send an ask about TKN with whatever question you have! Anon is turned on :) If y’all want to ask about how their designs changed so much and stuff… 👀

I might do this for.. a month? Idk it depends on how long people have questions lol, but again, I still feel like a lot of people still know me for ToA 😭

Artist credits: Soberana Art (on Artstation), @cat-gh0ul, NaldThal (on Ko-Fi), @heropaws, @gaylightisminetocommand, @biposi, @honeyxmonkey, @azurewildflight, @theeio

Links to their individual posts, if applicable: Current Merlin, Original Charlie, Birthday gift, Forest, Cuddles, Sploot, Meadow, Embrace

Taglist: @gaylightisminetocommand, @the-arson-author-gamer, @honeyxmonkey, @danhengsbestie

Also before I answer any other questions I’ll answer @thecomfywriter’s first, since she sent me a dm asking about TKN ages ago and then I forgot to complete a post 😭 It's still sitting around somewhere and I'm so sorry

If you'd like to be on the TKN taglist, just let me know! You can dm me, reply to this, or shoot me an ask. I'm also on Discord as the same username if you want to chat about TKN, get my rambling before you see me make a post, brainstorm with me, etc :)

And I have a TKN server, actually! I should really just. Revamp it idk I have forgotten to keep it updated with my Tumblr and Ao3 content

[thekingofthenameless]

Drops 2.4K of Unforgivable. and runs away

Merlin: He wakes up in an unfamiliar room. He forces the panic that threatens to drown him in its ocean down, (it’s still there, making his body hot, but at least he can think somewhat clearly) focusing on his surroundings. He squints in the dim light, hoping his eyes will adapt quickly. It… seems like a dungeon. A nasty, pungent one, at that. The scent of urine and feces combine to make a horrid smell that makes him cough and wrinkle his nose in disgust. More than likely, it's what woke him. He’ll definitely have to bathe and wash his clothes once he gets out of here. But why is he being held captive in the first place? He hasn’t been blindfolded, and no clothing has been taken off; his piercings are still in as well. (Thank the other gods for that mercy.) However, his hands are bound behind his back, and his ring is gone. They must have known it's his weapon. But how? They know you, the voices say, unbidden. He brushes them off. Who would know him and want to capture him? He shifts a little, trying to get more comfortable to alleviate the pain in his back- There’s something on his wrists besides the ropes. But what…? Magical suppressants. He’s cut off from his domain. He frantically begins searching for any sort of sharp object that would cut the ropes, but there’s nothing, only stone walls and floors, a few torches here and there. Of course they wouldn’t leave anything, with however they captured him. He struggles in vain to remember something, anything of what happened. His memory is shit, (and it had been even before his madness started, because apparently, being the god of magic doesn’t mean being granted a good memory) but it’s never been this bad. Did they give him some kind of mind wiping spell or potion? If they did, it had to have been a spell; no taste of anything foreign is in his mouth. And Charlie’s gone. The literal pain in his heart is proof of that, and it's all too obvious now that he's noticed. Does he feel it too? Where is he? Did he avoid being captured, unlike him? If he didn't, is he somewhere else in this dammed place? All right, calm down. A god cannot panic. Think. Why would they have wiped your mind? They must not want him to know the journey here. A cold sense of dread grips him, replacing the panic. He’d easily admit that he gets paranoid thoughts often, but there’s nothing good about taking someone captive and wiping their mind so they won’t know where you took them. He forces himself to take a deep breath. In through the nose, (at least he’s already getting used to this terrible air, and that lets him focus more) out through the mouth. The first thing to do would be getting his hands unbound, so he can take off these magic suppressing cuffs. The sooner, the better. Just because he feels fine now doesn’t mean he will later. And no matter what they captured him for, (questioning? Blackmail? Something else?) he’s not going to let them get hurt if he ends up not being able to control his magic. He tries not to think about the damage he could cause. (Of the lives he could end.) Footsteps alert him to someone’s presence. His brow furrows as he listens, turning his head so that he can hear better. He could swear that… he recognizes them, but that doesn’t make sense. Does it? Either way, with a little bit of luck, they’ll at least release him from the cuffs if he acts like the perfect, docile captive. When their guards are lowered, he can escape, find his companion, and forget this ever happened. Taking a deep breath, he prepares himself for the stranger he’ll have to face.

Instead, Mordecai steps out of the shadows. He doesn’t seem to notice the stench down here. Confusion replaces his trepidation (and panic), but at least he doesn’t have to put on a mask yet. “Mordecai? What are you doing here-” He did this. They were right about your captor knowing you. That’s how they knew your ring is your weapon. He’s seen you use it, seen you fight. No, he wouldn’t do this. …That’s true, isn’t it? He isn’t surprised to see you captive. Of course he knows you’re captive, idiot. He came down here. Unless he hadn’t known who the prisoner was before. But he does seem to. Mordecai stares at him silently, watching the different emotions flickering across his face. He resents his expressiveness for a moment, wishing he could hide under a layer of indifference. “You brought me here,” he says quietly. He could be wrong, but he highly doubts it. His acquaintance laughs. “Oh, that was quick. If you keep figuring out things at that speed, this could get boring.” He glares at him, futilely attempting to ignore the ache in his chest. (It’s there for two reasons now.) Someone else betrayed him. So what? He still has Charlie. Wherever he is. Taking a moment to clear his mind (or attempt to), he sends a message to his familiar. “Charlie, where are you? Are you all right?” He waits anxiously, trying not to get his hopes up but not give into despair at the same time. So instead, he demands answers. “Why? What do you want from me?” Before the man can reply, he continues, “Where is Charlie? If you’ve hurt him in the slightest-” “Calm yourself, wizard,” Mordecai interrupts, and if his hands were free, he’d give him a certain gesture. With both hands. “We only have… a few questions for you.” “Well, depending on what they are, maybe you could have asked them before you decided to capture me. And who else is here?” Suddenly, a white woman, with red hair braided over her right shoulder, and brown eyes (who he hadn’t even heard, because he’s been so focused on Mordecai) walks up beside the latter, putting a hand on his shoulder and caressing it. Ugh, are they courting? Married? “You have someone angry with you, wizard.” Her voice sounds soft, but it carries a dangerous undertone that makes him stiffen. Amidst wondering who the person is, and why they’re angry, it’s incredibly clear that she doesn’t even bother looking at him. And like Mordecai, she shows no signs of caring about the awful air. He studies her. His facial recognition is as shitty as his memory, but he’s almost certain he’s never met her before. Almost. Finally, she glances at him; her expression changes into disgust. “What’s wrong with his eyes?” She asks her suitor? Husband?, turning to him.

“Have you ever heard of something called being born with magic?” Merlin replies, raising an eyebrow. “It’s incurable.” Most know about them, even if seeing their color in person still surprises them, sometimes. It makes sense, even if he does get tired of being on the receiving end of the same reactions over and over. Reading about bright blue eyes, with orange rings near their pupils, against dark brown skin isn’t nearly the same thing as being able to stare into them. …Does she not know who he is? She glowers at him, and he returns it. “Of course,” she says haughtily, “but they’re still unsettling. They should be brown.” Mordecai suddenly laughs, and they both look at him. “I don’t think you should talk to Merlin that way, whether he’s currently tied up or not.” The woman’s mouth drops open in shock, eyes widening; she stares at both of them, unable to believe it. “That’s Merlin? He’s Merlin?” All right, suspicions confirmed. But why would Mordecai not have told her his name? “I wanted to surprise you by having the most powerful wizard alive in our dungeon, my love,” is his reply. Oh. Our dungeon. Do you even know him at all I… thought I did. He still hasn’t said what he wants from you. And Charlie hasn’t… “Charlie, please answer me.” There’s still silence. Not even a flicker of his telepathy being received. The ache in his chest becomes worse, harder to ignore. Why isn’t he answering? He notices Mordecai taking her hand and kissing it, but he’s unable to feel disgust like most of the time, even with pet names. “Are you?” Smirking, she reaches up to stroke his cheek. “Very.” Somehow, he keeps his face neutral, despite being divided between fear, anger, and laughing at the sheer irony. If you’re this happy now, imagine knowing you actually captured a god. She removes her hand from Mordecai’s cheek, walking over to him; she stares at him the whole time, assessing, and he has to fight the urge to twitch under the weight of her eyes. Once she reaches him, she roughly grips his chin, tilting his head up. She smells like sandalwood, soft and warm, completely opposite to how she’s treating him. “You’re not what I expected Merlin to look like at all.” He just stares at her, face unchanging. Inwardly, confusion and annoyance are simultaneously present. What does she want him to say to that? What does anyone who tells him that? “You have no idea how many times I’ve heard that. Is it a compliment in this case?” He questions, putting on a fake smile. And get your hands off me. “No,” she says bluntly. Ignoring his smile changing to an insulted expression, she continues, “Do you know how you got here?” He shakes his head mutely. He’s been able to begin suppressing some of his emotions, and now he has to play his part of being weak, compliant, no matter how much he hates acting like this. “I don’t remember. What did you do to me?” He asks, pitiful and pleading. Mordecai laughs a second time, and the sound grates against his ears. “Docile so soon? I thought you’d put up more a fight. I’m a little disappointed in you.” When you kidnapped me? Fuck you. He lowers his gaze, which is easy, because he refuses to look into their eyes. “Fighting when captive only brings punishment.” The woman, who he still doesn’t know the name of, hums in agreement, finally releasing his chin. “You’re right. You seem smarter than some give you credit for.” He keeps his gaze lowered, even as the backhanded compliment gets under his skin. “Do you have Charlie?” “Now, why would we tell you that?” Mordecai replies, tone condescending under a veil of faked gentleness.

Fear and hopelessness constrict his heart. He manages to keep his shoulders from stiffening, but his emotions are exposed, raw, and they both know. It’s in their eyes, on their faces. They must be showing on his own, his façade of suppression shattered, because he still doesn’t know if his dragon is all right, if he escaped, and Mordecai’s betrayal still hurts- The man laughs a third time, reveling in seeing him like this for some reason, and anger rises in his chest, the different emotions swirling around in him bringing tears to his eyes. “Why do you care so much? He’s just a pet, even if he can speak.” “No, he’s not!” He cries, the anger burning hot and bright now. His bonds feel tighter than ever, his magic aching to be released, so he can teach them to never call his familiar a pet again. “Tell me where he is!” “Hmm, you were right, darling,” the woman says calmly, unfazed by his fury. “Right about what?” He demands, done with their condescension, their evasiveness, their kidnapping him just to have him answer a few questions. Mordecai smiles, and it’s a sharp, dangerous one that he’s seen from Gunnar, and his mouth goes dry, heart pounding as he remembers his father, who’s always soaked in blood, the battlefields, the bodies- His lips move, but Merlin doesn’t hear what comes out of his mouth. “What?” He mutters dumbly past the rising lump in his throat, feeling like he’s drowning, even with his smile gone. Mordecai’s brows furrow, seeing the terror on his face, wondering why since he has no way of knowing, but he answers anyways: “The way to get to you is through the dragon.” With that, he smiles again, smug this time, and he wants to punch it right off the man’s face. Theres no way for him to refute his statement, but he doesn’t care. “Mordecai, where is he?” He only clicks his tongue. “Goodness, Merlin. You can’t even deny it.” His tears begin falling, slipping down his cheeks despite his efforts. He glares at both of them through his blurring vision, wanting his companion more than anything. “Already in tears, wizard?” The woman mocks, smirking, and he hates both of them, and he wants Charlie to respond, and escape and find him and forget this ever happened- “We haven’t even gotten started yet.” “Unsurprising, really.” Mordecai moves closer, and… strokes his cheek, uncaring of him not wanting his touch, or the tears still streaming down his face, refusing to stop. “He’s so softhearted.” “What did I even do to you?” He sobs. Despair begins to settle over him, suffocating him, no matter how much he’s trying to stay strong. “Charlie, please. Please let me know you’re all right.” Silence. He sobs harder. “Shh…” Mordecai murmurs, not stopping his motions. “It’s not what you did to us. It’s what you did to a friend.” “Who?” The panic returns, gripping him in a vice, and he can’t remember who he could have slighted, only able to think of his family, of Charlie, and why- “I suppose it’s time to get them now, isn’t it, darling?” The woman asks. He can’t see her expression. His vision is blocked from Mordecai’s body in front of him and his tears. Another sob tears from his throat, his body becoming hot, stomach twisting into knots, breaths becoming harsh and ragged.

Mordecai nods and steps away, and he can’t even be relieved at the fact that his hand is gone because he’s terrified of what’s coming. Who are the other people? What did he do? What do they want to do to him? Where’s his dragon? He can’t be unconscious. He has to either be asleep or too far away to hear him. When has he ever been that far away? (He hasn’t.) No, he’s fine. He’s fine. He can’t be captive like he is, muzzled so he can’t use his jaws or fire, wings tightly tied in ropes or clipped-

[thekingofthenameless]

Shoves my transmasc Merlin agenda into everyone’s faces and runs away

Warnings: mild blood mentions and mild swearing!

Sudden pain in his vagina wakes Merlin. He internally groans and closes his eyes. Not now, damn it. He doesn’t want his clothes and sheets to get stained, but he doesn’t have the energy to get up and clean himself, nevermind finding wherever he stored his rags because he forgot. (Yes, he could wake Charlie up and ask him, but he wants to let him sleep. He can find them. Eventually.) He shifts uncomfortably, attempting to ignore the wetness on his underwear that’s surely blood. Movement behind him tells him his dragon is awake. Then he’s getting nuzzled, quiet yet large breaths wafting on his hair and face. “What’s wrong?” Charlie whispers, concern in his voice. He moves closer, curling around him. “I think it’s that time, but I don’t want to deal with it,” he mumbles groggily, his voice husky. “What time?” He nuzzles him again, letting out a purr. “Cleansing Tide.” Charlie stops his nuzzling and purring, which he still recognizes as strange despite his sleepiness. “Merlin, say that again,” he murmurs gently. “Why do I need to say it again?” He questions, opening his eyes. He turns to squint at him, trying to meet his familiar’s gaze despite his glowing. “You’re 65.” He stares at him in confusion, but Charlie just looks at him patiently. His head isn’t in the right place to understand what that’s supposed to mean, apparently. “What does that have to do with anything?” “…Besides the fact that you’re too old to have them?” Oh. “Shit.” Charlie snorts. “I’m an idiot.” “No, you’re not. Stop it.” Purring again, he bumps his head. “Why did you think that?” He makes a vague gesture that Charlie will still understand, squeezing his legs in an attempt to help the pain. “Hurts a little. I suppose it’s just random pain.” And discharge. Sighing, he leans into his familiar, closing his eyes again. Maybe he can sleep it off.

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[thekingofthenameless]

Happy Pride Month!!!! OC that was previously cis is now transmasc!

That was the concept I was yelling about! Everyone I’ve told has loved it, and Tumblr’s getting it too.

Anyways TRANSMASC MERLIN MY BELOVED

I can say with the upmost confidence that he’s definitely never been transgender in any Arthurian adaptation before except fanfiction.

There isn’t really much of a story for why I decided to do this, though. He’s been cisgender for a little over three years, give or take, and I hadn’t had any intentions of changing it.

But I had literally just started work yesterday morning, and out of nowhere my brain was like: “Trans Merlin.”

And then I got consumed by it.

There isn’t much content about him being transgender; only ten posts tagged posts for it on Tumblr, 82 fics of it on Ao3. (Yes, I checked.) And it’s all for one adaptation only: BBC Merlin.

I’m going to be the change I want to see though >:)

So without further ado, here’s a few new facts about him!

Merlin was his name at birth, and he kept it after transitioning.

(In my opinion, it’s an ode to trans people who don’t change their name before or after transitioning, and it’s also a reference/mythology gag to female portrayals of Merlin, such as The Seven Deadly Sins!)

(Honestly thinking about it, I can’t believe in all these adaptations of Arthurian Legend Merlin isn’t trans in at least one?? Or queer in some way? This is so rude.)

In TKN, cambions can shapeshift easily, and there’s also a spell they can cast that makes the form they change into their base/true form, which is what Merlin did. (He cried when he finally saw who he wanted to be in a mirror.)

When he was deciding on how he wanted to ideally look before the spell, he decided he didn’t want to let his ear piercings close, and he also chose to keep his hair long and keep wearing jewelry.

(Older queers my beloved.)

He still got periods until he went into menopause because magic unfortunately, as he and I both agree can’t get rid of periods, and he actually didn’t want to change his genitalia! He still has every reproductive organ he was born with. His chest, however, gave him gender dysphoria, so he bound it during/after puberty before using the spell.

(I love how Merlin has gone from cis white to cis ambiguously brown skinned [glad I changed that lol] to cis black to transmac black. Just. Merlin my beloved.)

Charlie is one of the few characters who knows that Merlin is transgender: people already think Merlin’s crazy for his schizophrenia and psychosis, and/or an asshole for his misophonia, so he doesn’t want to risk another thing they’d use against him. Charlie is the best familiar and was fully supportive throughout his transition, and he loves him and is fully willing to accommodate his disabilities when no one will.

(Trans Merlin has been giving me so much euphoria all day oh my gosh. I love him so much.)

He still has a sister! Her name is Ganieda, and in some of the Legends she’s two years younger than him. Here, though, they’re identical twins!

(No offense to the og Legends, but for one reason, it’s because of Adhan having a second child only two years after being assaulted and getting pregnant from it. She would’ve gotten pregnant again at a year and three months after? It’s kind of strange, in my opinion.)

Also identical twins, and one of them being trans!

(I just. TRANS MERLIN)

As a given, he knows what periods and feminine rage and experiencing misogyny are like! But in a world that doesn’t for the most part, he comes off as well versed in it to everyone else.

(This is just an idea for now, but I was thinking that maybe later in TKN, Morgana gets her period at Camelot, and after Merlin gets her taken care of/gently educates her about it, he astral projects to Igraine and Gorlois and is like: “Hey Morgana got her period, but I got her taken care of dw 👍” and their response is: “Wow, you’re really knowledgeable about periods!”

Merlin: Trans panic

He’s experienced both womanhood and manhood, and both of them are extremely important to him. He was raised as a daughter. He experienced being a sister. He went through puberty in a girl’s body. He has the right to tell her story, and his.

Anyways. Transmasc Merlin because I’m not going to stop screaming about it

Also I made this :D

[thekingofthenameless]

This came up on my dash and this is THEM IAKSKSKSKS

Merlin is A and Charlie is C (idk who B is but it could be multiple characters tbh)

Link to the Twitter post!

Taglist: @gaylightisminetocommand, @the-arson-author-gamer, @honeyxmonkey, @danhengsbestie

[thekingofthenameless]

New TKN headcanon!

(Is it a headcanon when it’s your own thing? Idk lol)

Despite dragons being stereotyped/depicted as having huge hoards of treasure and other things, Charlie doesn’t have one

If you asked him about it, he’d walk over to Merlin and either: lightly bite some part of him, or grab some part of him in his jaws and just hold him there, because that’s what’s his

(Merlin’s the one with a shit ton of books and stuff lol)

[thekingofthenameless]

Cool! Thanks for answering! :D

Hey, I’m the one who sent Merlin in! I’ve been reading your posts, and doing other research on how to take care of locs.

But since it takes place in medieval fantasy, I wasn’t sure what Merlin would moisturize his locs with. I read an article that had a moisturizer combination with castor oil in it? And if I remember right, you personally use something with rose water in it? I could be wrong lol.

Do you only need to moisturize them once a day, or more than that? Also, how long does it take to do that? His locs are going to be down to his back, and I’m not sure how long it would take him.

I’m sorry for all the questions I just want to make things accurate hjkkkkmn

It's mostly water in a spray bottle, followed by whatever oils someone with locs wants to put in it. So if his locs are down to his back, he probably doesn't want castor oil and peppermint bc that helps with growth. I've used coconut and argan for softness, tea tree for helping with itch and dandruff, rose water for softness and smell. Aloe vera for itch and swelling. So yeah it can really be any combo of things. Perhaps just make up some fantasy plants that are the equivalent to these. Just look up a list of oils and how they help the hair, and choose from there.

As for how often, this depends on the person lol. I admittedly could moisturize my hair more. But I at least do it once a day. Some people do multiple a day, some people do it weekly. It's not a set thing. And for how long, depends on how long the hair is. It doesn't take me longer than about two minutes, when I just spray and massage into my scalp and the length. Same amount when they were down my back. They don't need to be soaking wet lol it just needs to be moist. The goal is keeping the scalp moisturized, so that the hair that grows is healthy, and the size of the head doesn't change lol. 👍🏾