AU where Arthur finds out about the prophecy and pieces together that "his closest ally Emrys" must be Merlin because who else would it be, but incorrectly assumes that Merlin doesn't know and therefore has never practiced magic before.
Even better if he finds out early season 1 so He's just so devastated the entire time and he's just like "I can't believe this, this prophecy is going to turn my best friend into a sorcerer, and it's all my fault for being the once and future king" and Merlin's in the back just murdering a sidhe
girls night out
I need you to understand that when I say "comments are appreciated!" I mean that I will reply to every one of them. I mean that an email with an ao3 notification has a higher priority than a message from my mother. I mean that I will have entire discussions in the comment section if you're up for it. Message me on tumblr and I will have the same discussions on an even more unhinged level. I will dissect entire personalities and ships and fictional political structures and worldbuilding with you. I will become your new best friend. You already ARE my new best friend. At the last battle, I would raise Anduril and say "For my ao3 readers" while a single tears rolls down my cheek, and dive into the fray. I would upload from beyond the grave if someone asked about the next chapter
BBC Merlin & Text Posts (16/?)
I adore it when Merlin goes away for a few days in a fanfic and all hell breaks loose
Arthur is grumpy because he misses Merlin and he hates it when anyone other than Merlin dress him. His hair is a mess and his clothes are crumpled, he’s missing one shoe but no one wants to tell him
The knights are walking in eggshells around him. Leons hair is going grey, and Lancelot is seen drinking wine during the council meetings
Gwaine is missing presumed dead
The kitchen is in a disarray, the usual schedules and menus are not being updated now that Merlin is gone
Bills have not been paid and new orders are not coming in. The merchants and fishermen are pissed. No one realises how much Merlin is actually on top of and how many people he has in his network
The Head Steward is scrambling to keep up with all the work Merlin seemingly did in his spare time. Some servants are wandering aimlessly with no tasks provided, while others are busy trying to finish up all the chores Merlin does in his sleep
Somehow the Kingdom is still standing (but just barely)
George is crying into the laundry (they ran out of soap two days ago because no one was instructed to make more) Merlin was always on top of these small things that most people overlooked — but now that he was gone, everything crumbled
Gwen could probably fix most of these issues, but has instead decided to go on strike on principle
There have been seven failed assassination attempts on the King. The Royal Spymaster is fired once Leon realised that Merlin is the unofficial spymaster
When The Royal Library and Mapmakers Guild requested a substitute scribe for the few days Merlin was away, everyone looked confused. For how long has Merlin helped them out too? Elyan volunteered, if only to get out of training
Mordred considers moving back in with the Druids and leave Camelot (this is not what he signed up for)
The council is in hiding for fear of further angering the King — one Lord mentioned Merlin by name and Arthur threatened to banish him, and since then no one has dared to speak his name again
Gaius officially retires and moves into a cottage
Merlin returns three days later like “what happened?!”
It’s okay
My biggest tip for fanfic writers is this: if you get a character's mannerisms and speech pattern down, you can make them do pretty much whatever you want and it'll feel in character.
Logic: Characters, just like real people, are mallable. There is typically very little that's so truly, heinously out of character that you absolutely cannot make it work under any circumstance. In addition, most fans are also willing to accept characterization stretches if it makes the fic work. Yeah, we all know the villain and the hero wouldn't cuddle for warmth in canon. But if they did do that, how would they do it?
What counts is often not so much 'would the character do this?' and more 'if the character did do this, how would they do it?' If you get 'how' part right, your readers will probably be willing to buy the rest, because it will still feel like their favourite character. But if it doesn't feel like the character anymore, why are they even reading the fic?
Worry less about whether a character would do something, and more about how they'd sound while doing it.
Who gonna tell him he spent a fortune to fund izuku's support items so they could be pro heros together again after 8 years
Gwaine: look, it'll all stay between us mates.
Arthur: that's not as reassuring as you think it is
Gwaine: you offend me!!!! Look. I'm your drink-mate, Leon's your brain-mate, Lancelot's your honor-mate, Percival's you brawn-mate, Elyan's your bro-mate, Merlin's your soulmate and Gwen's your heart, mate. Let's drink to that
Arthur: hold on, Merlin's my what now?