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im suffering from a horrendous disease called being in your 20s
*the knights and merlin travelling the outskirts of Camelotâs forests*
Elyan: Do you guys see these weird markings on the tree?
Percival: Yeah, Iâve seen a few of them a few yards back.
Leon: And you didnât tell anyone? That could be marks of enemies!
Gwaine: They are. Bandits leave behind signs when they leave an area for other bandits. Or just to remind themselves when they come back.
Lancelot: Do you know what these say? We didnât had bandits in a while.
Gwaine: I am not sure. If I read this correctly it means âno good lootingâ and âbeware of harmless looking guy picking herbsâ.
Merlin: *cold sweat*
Arthur: *laughs* Be careful everyone! Merlin might tear us apart limb by limb!
Merlin: *eyes glow*
Arthur: *branch almost falls on him, spooking his horse*
Lancelot: đ
Merlin: đ¤ˇđťââď¸
Hello everyone! I'm back with another Merlin au! This one is a horror-themed au for spooky season! Enjoy!
This au is Inspired by the story of King Pedro I of Portugal and Ines de Castro (which is a heartbreaking story that deserves to have more people talking about it), and it's set in a world where Merlin and Arthur are already together in season 3. After a magic reveal gone wrong, Merlin's magic was revealed while Uther was still alive, leading to Uther ordering Merlin's execution while Arthur was away on a hunting trip. When Arthur returns, he's met with the news of Merin's death, but he refuses to believe such horrible news until he rushes into Gaius's chambers, screaming for Merlin, only to find Gaius and Gwen sobbing over Merlin's body.
Arthur is overcome by grief and, after a few hours sitting in Gaius's chambers staring at Merlin's unnaturally still form with tears streaming down his face, Arthur marches off to face his father, to make him pay for his crimes. Uther is, of course, furious over Arthur getting so worked up over a treacherous sorcerer, but Arthur fights him like a madman, fueled by grief and rage.
In the end, Arthur wins the duel, and while the shocked lords and knights watching the whole ordeal were expecting Arthur to run his father through with is blade, Arthur does something that no one expects. He uses his blade to carve open Uther's chest, cutting out his heart, saying that Uther had been so heartless as to take Arthur's love from him, this ought to be his fate.
While the lords and knights were all shocked and horrified at the display, there was little they could do besides acknowledge the prince as their new ruler. Within a couple days, Uther's funeral and Arthur's coronation were organized, but Arthur still felt numb, even as the crown was placed on his head. He could almost feel the empty consort's throne next to him, where Merlin was always supposed to be, mocking him viciously.
But then, an idea formed in Arthur's not-quite-sane-anymore mind. Merlin had always deserved to sit at his side, to be honored as any consort to a king should be. Arthur had to see this through, to ensure that Merlin received the honors that he was denied during life.
Arthur ordered the servants to, under Gaius's supervision, collect Merlin's body, dress him in royal robes, and have him carried to the throne room. There was no way to make any of this right again, no way to make Arthur feel whole once more, but there was a way to make sure that Merlin's memory and all that he meant to Arthur lived on.
When the doors to the throne room finally opened, shocked and horrified gasps rose up from the assembled court at the sight that awaited them. There, being carried in on a stone slab, lay Merlin's pale, prone body, dressed in royal finery from Arthur's own wardrobe. His colorless pallor against the rich red robes created a striking and distinctly disturbing contrast, which was only heightened by the colorful jewelry that accompanied the outfit.
Arthur imagined what a magnificent sight Merlin would have made if he were alive and yearned for such a vision with all of his heart. But the reality of the situation was as grim as the expressions of the knights carrying Merlin's body. Merlin was gone, taking Arthur heart and all of his joy with him, and all that was left for Arthur to feel was somber determination to make at least one thing right: Merlin would be honored and remembered as a king.
The crowd's shocked whispering didn't cease as the procession passed them and made its way towards the thrones, reverently placing the slab in front of the steps to the throne, but they were shocked into silence as Arthur picked up Merlin's body and cradled him gently before carrying him over to the consort's throne and placing him on it with the greatest care.
The court was silenced at the disturbing sight of a limp body sitting in the queen's throne, but horrified gasps shot up from the crowd as the king suddenly turned around to face them, his eyes bloodshot and glaring at them all.
"You, all of you, stood by and let my father do this! And now, you will show your respect to the man you had forsaken. Merlin was everything to me, and I never had any intention to rule without him by my side. Living or dead, if I am king, then so is he."
Arthur slowly made his way back to his own throne and sat down, a picture of royal power. His eyes darted over to Merlin for a second, before shifting back over the crowd. Still, was it just Arthur's desperate imagination, or was there now a slight flush in Merlin's skin that wasn't there earlier?
"Just as you all knelt before me and took an oath of fealty, you will do the same for him. You will give him all of the honor he deserved in life."
At first, the lords in attendance just looked at him in utter disbelief, but the fierce glare Arthur sent them confirmed that the king was being entirely serious. Slowly, each of the lords knelt before the consort's throne, not daring to look up at the disturbing sight before them, and recited their oaths of fealty, feeling the king's burning gaze on them all the while.
Finally, after all of the lords had taken their oaths, a pale Geoffrey presented Arthur with the consort's crown, a treasure that had not been seen by anyone since Ygraine's passing. Arthur gingerly lifted the crown and made his way over to Merlin.
As he stepped closer, Arthur wanted to weep. Perhaps it was some cruel trick his mind was playing on him, put it looked like Merlin's color had returned to him, making him appear like he was only sleeping, like he would wake up and everything would be fine again.
Taking a steadying breath to hold his tears at bay, Arthur finally stepped right in front of Merlin, holding the crown over his motionless head. It wasn't fair, Arthur decided. It wasn't fair that Arthur had finally become king, was finally in a place where he could openly profess his love for Merlin, but Merlin wasn't here by his side to see it!
Still, he could let everyone else see his love for Merlin. Slowly, he lowered the crown onto Merlin's head, letting rest on his limp head. Arthur took a shaking step back, trembling with rage and grief as he looked at Merlin, bedecked in royal robes and wearing the crown that Arthur had always longest to give him. Arthur's own mind still mocked him, making Merlin look almost alive again, like he was only sleeping, when Arthur when that Merlin was gone, and all that was left of him was this pale, empty shell and a terrible hollowness in Arthur's chest where his heart was supposed to be.
Arthur tenderly gasped Merlin's chin, tilting his head up to face him. This was goodbye, Arthur knew it. After this, Merlin would be laid to rest with all the honors of a king, and Arthur would be left ruling over his kingdom alone and heartbroken for the rest of his days. With tears flowing freely down his face, Arthur leaned down and pressed a kiss onto Merlin's lips. Once again, Arthur's mind took pity on him, as he could swear that Merlin's lips were warm with life under his own.
Arthur drew back, gazing at his love's face for what might be the last time, attempting to commit every minute detail to memory, such that Merlin's likeness would never fade from his mind even as the years went by. As Arthur eyes scanned over Merlin's face, however, there was one thing that struck him as odd before his mind caught up to what he was seeing and his heart, which had felt cold and frozen fir days, started beating at a frantic rhythm.
Because Merlin's eyes were open.
(Yes, Merlin was immortal the whole time, but his magic was just taking a while to heal him lol!)
And that's all for now! I hope you all enjoyed this au! Let me know if you'd like to see a continuation!
And, as always, thank you for reading through my ramblings! :D
*coughs* Arthur Pendragon *coughs*
*coughs* Gwaine *coughs*
But for different reasons! Gwaine survives thanks to his own stubbornness and homosexuality, but Arthur survives through the power of Merlin's stubbornness and homosexuality!
love myself a cockroach of a character. i look at them and go âhow is that fucker not dead? they should be dead. they should be dead ten times over. how are they not?â and 90% of the time the answer is a combo of sheer stubborness and homosexuality
Thanks to all of your amazing support, I've decided to start posting the "Archeologist Merlin and Immortal Camelot" au on ao3! Here's the first chapter, and I'll be updating it once a day! I hope you all enjoy! :D
If you've enjoyed the last few gifs with Arthur or Merlin spinning, please pick one of these options to help me pick which gif I'll make next!
Aaaand we're at #4 on trending again. I have no clue what's in the water today (besides the general desire for escapism), but let's party on Merlin fandom!
Merlin fandom, are we all doing okay?? Because this is the third time THIS WEEK that THIS has happened:
I feel like I've missed something here. What the hell is happening?! Or have we all just collectively awakened and decided like the hive mind that we are to take over tumblr again?
I am once again pushing my agenda that the druids could bypass the "Life for a Life" requirement with the cup of life if they had the power and support of a god for the ritual. I have two ideas about how this would go:
I would like to think that one of the gods of the old religion looked at Leon and said "Man, you know what would be even better than killing one of Uther's head knights? Forcing him to live for-fucking-ever and denying him the sweet release of death!" And then the god punished Leon by transferred all of the years that Leon's victim during the Purge should have lived (had their lives not been cut short) onto Leon. Needless to say, that's a LOT of years.
The Druids were like "Hey, isn't this guy chill with Emrys? Maybe we should call him in." And they called upon Emrys's power to keep Leon alive, unbeknownst to Merlin. So now, Merlin's endless magic is what keeps Leon alive, leading to his immortality.
Still wondering who died for Sir Leon when the druids saved him with the cup of life. đ
I had a lot of fun working with Griffon on this fic! I had a blast writing the identity shenanigans between Merlin and Emrys!
A big thank you to my beta reader, Sage_Owl on Ao3, and to the reverse bang mods for organizing this event! :D
Author: @ramblings-of-a-chaotic-neutral Arthis: @griffonskies Rating: Teen and Up Pairing: Merlin/Arthur Summary:
âMerlin, do you know this fiend? Has he threatened you into allowing him to take your appearance somehow?!â âYes, I do know him, but he hasnât stolen my appearance or anything of the like. It is, technically, his face too.â Arthurâs brows furrowed with confusion. What was Merlin going on about now? âThis really wasnât the introduction I would have liked, but I guess itâs too late for that now. Everyone, Iâd like you all to meet my twin brother, Emrys.â ~ After a ritual gone wrong, Merlin's soul is split into two different bodies: one with magic and one without. And because destiny apparently had it out for him, the knights catch both of them in the same place. Without any better explanation, Merlin blurts out the only believable lie that he can think of: that the two identical Merlins are twin brothers.
Link to fic HERE
THIS!! YESSSSS!!
This right here is my favorite Merthur dynamic, hands down! Because what is a king to a god? Nothing but an insect, unless that king's name is Arthur and that god's name is Emrys. In that case, then a king is everything to a god.
One scenario that I'd love to incorporate into a fic one day is Merlin, in a sort of eldritch form as Emrys that looks like a floating tangle of golden tendrils that dwarfs the castle itself, gently holding Arthur.
Just, Merlin being a giant eldritch unknowable creature that is all-powerful and capable of breaking a mortal's mind if they so much as looked at him, cradling Arthur and holding him close. Because it doesn't matter if Merlin is an eldritch god or not, Arthur will always be his king, his friend, his everything.
donât mind me Iâm just thinking about how crazy it would be to have a devoted servant who you trusted above all others and who was happy â honored, even â to spend their life kneeling at your feet like a loyal dog. and then one day it turns out that your servant is actually God, like capital-G God, making you not just Godâs favorite, but the object of Godâs worship: a holy figure to the literal divine.
A great selection of my incoherent thoughts!AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticNeutral01/pseuds/ChaoticNeutral01
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