Latest Posts by ramblings-of-a-chaotic-neutral - Page 6

I agree that you're both popular and hyperfixated @achillesuwu!

I'm probably hyperfixated, considering my blog's contents lol!

You 🤝 Me

✨The blorbos✨

I find these off pintrest.

Which moot am I guys?????????

Hello everyone! I'm back with another au! Enjoy! :)

This au picks up at the battle of Camlann, where Morgana uses a spell to deactivate Merlin's aging spell. All of Camelot's forces look on in horror as the old sorcerer on the ridge turns out to be Merlin. Merlin himself looks devastated by this.

Morgana then begins goading Merlin by loudly revealing all his secrets to Arthur, Gwen, and all the knights on the battlefield, intending to make sure that he could never return to Camelot. She reveals that he is Emrys, all-powerful, magic incarnate, the son of the Triple Goddess, and a god of the Old Religion in human form. He is the the most feared creature in all of Camelot, and they never even knew it.

Merlin, enraged by this, viciously fights Morgana with his magic. Mordred abandons his goal of battling Arthur to rush over to Morgana's side, trying to defend her from Emrys's wrath.

Merlin, still carving a path of destruction and death through the battlefield, doesn't hesitate to strike Mordred down with lightning. While Morgana was too busy being stunned and horrified by what just happened, Merlin takes Mordred's fallen dragon-forged blade and runs Morgana through with it, ending her for good.

The remaining soldiers in Morgana's Saxon army, now decimated and seeing that their leader is dead, killed by a force far more powerful than she herself, turn around and flee, desperate to avoid being slaughtered at the hands of a god.

With the Saxons gone, the battlefield of Camlann goes quiet, with the only sounds being the quiet whistling of the wind blowing through the valley. Camelot's knights are frozen in fear and shock, looking at Arthur for guidance for what to do next.

However, Arthur himself is frozen still too, unable to tear his eyes away from Merlin, the man who he trusted more than anyone, who was never even a man to begin with. His manservant, who was secretly a god the entire time!

But Merlin has his back turned to Arthur, and is simply gazing out into the distance. He turns around though, and he meets Arthur's eyes for a split second, before vanishing into thin air.

A second later, Arthur could swear that he heard Merlin's voice whisper along with the wind, "I'm sorry."

Staring out across the now empty battlefield, Arthur had no choice but to shakily order the knights to pack up and return to Camelot. There was nothing left for them here.

They returned to camp and started the journey back to Camelot in silence, everyone's minds reeling from what had just happened. The sudden revelation of Merlin's true nature had left Arthur, Gwen, and the knights terrified and unsure of everything.

Once back in the safety of Camelot, Arthur has a huge breakdown, wondering how the hell he's even alive if the man he's bossed around for the past ten years was actually capable of brutally destroying an entire army with a wave of his hand the entire time. How had he survived if he had been humiliating a god every day for years, a god whose followers had been slaughtered by his hand!

Their return to Camelot had been stressful to say the least, all of them on edge despite their victory. Yes, Merlin Emrys had ensured their victory, but who knew what plans the god had for Camelot now that his true nature was revealed?! What revenge would he enact on the kingdom responsible for the purge?!

These thoughts haunted Arthur even as he returned to his chambers, changed himself into his nightclothes (and ignoring the fact that the god of magic had been dressing him for the past decade), and fell into a fitful sleep.

Arthur was shocked and terrified when, in the morning, he was awoken with a very familiar "Rise and shine, dollophead! You have a full schedule today!"

His heart stuttered with terror as his eyes shot open and beheld the sight of Merlin, smiling and looking as he always did, as if nothing had changed. His heart pounded with sudden fear as he leapt out of bed, scrambling for something, anything to defend himself with against the man who had once been his closest friend. But, Arthur's mind hissed at him, what good would any sword do against a god?! He was as good as dead already!

Merlin Emrys, to Arthur's shock, didn't even bat an eye at Arthur pulling a blade on him and set the tray full of breakfast on the table, completely unphased.

"Come on, we don't have time for this, Arthur! Just sit down and eat your breakfast while I pick out your clothes for the day."

Arthur's however, didn't move from his place against the wall. Did he really think Arthur was stupid enough to fall for something like that?

Well, Arthur's mind hissed again, you were stupid enough to mistake a god for an manservant for ten years.

Emrys simply rolled his eyes, his impatience now showing, and Arthur braced himself to be hit with the full force of divine wrath.

Something in the air shifted, and Arthur suddenly found himself sitting at the table without having moved a muscle, with the breakfast tray in front of him.

"There we go! Now, please hurry up and eat. I didn't even steal one of your sausages this time! So, for today, do you want to wear your training gambeson or your more formal set?"

Arthur said nothing in response, too busy staring, petrified by fear and bewildered beyond words, at the god of magic lay out his clothes for the day.

The rest of the day goes on like this, with Merlin pretending like everything's normal while Arthur, and everyone else in the castle, is completely terrified by Merlin's presence alone. But, they can't really make him to leave.

Knights who draw their swords at the sight of Merlin find that their blades turn to dust as soon as he looks at them. The servants who see him, who have no doubt heard the disturbing news about his true nature as Emrys, scream in terror and run away at the sight of him.

Even Guinevere, who was sitting on her throne next to Arthur when she saw Merlin out of the corner of her eye, holding a pitcher of watered down wine like it was an ordinary day, tensed up with fright, her hands gripping the arms of her throne and her breathing picking up as her mind replayed memories of Merlin, her dearest friend, raining death down upon Camlann.

Eventually, Arthur gathers enough courage to ask Merlin why he's still here, what he wants from Camelot, and what it will take to have him spare Arthur's people.

And Merlin's response is to simply smile and tell Arthur that he will not leave. He is Arthur's servant, and there's nothing Arthur can do about that other than accept it.

TL;DR:

Arthur, fearing for his entire kingdom: Please, Emrys, just tell me what you want! I'm sorry about treating you like a servant! I'll do anything, just please spare my people!

Merlin, doing laundry and desperate to avoid his life changing in any way: I'm :) your :) servant :)

Thanks for the tag! <3

Mine was "synonyms for shocked". I spend a lot of time on thesaurus.com lol! I'm always terrified of using the same descriptive word twice in one paragraph. 😅

No pressure tags!

@sugar-coated-prat-dragon, @justaz, @guiltyscarlet, @tansyuduri

last google search, go

um. Tag four people.

what do they make sewer tunnels out of

@ncc1701ohno @affixjoy @the-magpieprince @twinkboimler

Thanks for tagging me @saladscream! This looks like fun!

3 Non-romantic Duos:

Merlin & Gwen. I love their sweet friendship and wish that the show kept it for longer!

Gwaine & Percival. Chaotic knight bros! They deserved more screentime together.

Merlin & Lancelot. Merlin and his bestie! They deserved more time!! Merlin deserved more time with the one person who truly understood him!

A ship that might surprise others:

Leon/George! I'd love to write a fic about these two one day! Two tired dudes who just want to do their jobs but the madness in Camelot keeps getting in the way lol!

Last Song: The Moon Will Sing by the Crane Wives

Last Film: Probably also Deadpool & Wolverine.

Currently Reading: The Song of Achilles. I just started it though, so it might take me a while to finish!

Currently Watching: I'm not really watching any shows right now, especially with uni final exams coming up quick!

Currently Consuming: Merlin fics and Thanksgiving food!

Currently Craving: Hot chocolate and having enough time to write!

No Pressure tags!

@theroundbartable @larluce @achillesuwu

3 people you'd like to get to know better

(because I think 9 would be a bit presumptuous of me) 😅

tagged: @realmoftenderness 😁

tagging: @bertytravelsfar @calamity-talvi @ramblings-of-a-chaotic-neutral

3 non romantic duos :

Arthur & Leon

Subtle sibling vibe, these two. True brothers in arms. Probably best mates since they were wee lads playing with sticks instead of swords.

Merlin & Gwaine

Obviously partners in crime, these two. It's canon.

That is not to say they wouldn't have been lovers under different circumstances... Because Gwaine is one flirty trollop and Merlin is only human (mostly). 😏

Uther & Gaius

Very odd dynamic between these two. It sometimes feels like they were once great friends. Possibly a bit like Arthur and Merlin - except the whole thing has gone very very wrong. Now it simply feels like they know each other's worst secrets.

A ship that might surprise others

Uther/Nimueh

I haven't given much thought to this, mind you. But if I have to come up with some unusual couple, I would put my money on these two. It's just... They both deserve each other. And Nimueh got rid of Ygraine. I feel there's a tension between them that speaks of former attachment.

Last song: "Urgent" by Foreigner because it's one of my favourites.

Last film: "Deadpool and Wolverine"? I think. Either that or "Trap"

Currently reading: Sadly, nothing. Last proper book I read was "The Captive Prince" (thanks for the rec btw, Berty!)

Currently watching: Um... "Agatha all along". Finished watching it a couple of weeks ago, but haven't had the time to start anything else. Where do you guys find the TIME to watch stuff?!? I can barely function as it is, with work and family, etc.

Currently consuming: Merthur fics. Like cookies. And coffee of course.

Currently craving: peace and quiet. The holidays. FREE TIME to write!

Why the hell is Merlin trending again today?? Is it one of those days where we all wake up and collectively go nuts over our favorite beautiful Shakespearean tragedy of a show again?? Did I miss something?

This probably won't happen in my Eldritch Merlin fic, but I think that a scene like this would be funny!

Merlin: *Is in his true form as Emrys, which takes the form of golden, twisting strands of magic surrounded by an uncountable number of glimmering eyes centered around a blindingly bright golden light, its shape ever changing and fluid, emanating pure magic and power*

Emrys: *Speaking despite not having an actual mouth* Be not afraid!

Most of the knights: AHHH HOLY FUCK!

Leon: Sighs

Gwaine: ... You know what? Smash.

Arthur: *Turns to Gwaine* Be more afraid!

Thanks for tagging me @achillesuwu!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Only six right now! I put a lot of effort into the fics that I put on ao3, so I want to make sure they're all nice and polished before I put them up on there!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

96,945. I'm coming up quickly on 100k!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Primarily Merlin now. I used to write in the Batman fandom, and 3 of my fics on ao3 are Batman fics! I'm hoping that I can go back one day and finish them.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

A Second Chance | 3,227 Kudos (Batman fic, and my most popular fic overall, which I find funny because I wrote it a couple years ago and my writing was so much worse back then lol!)

Thomas Wayne's Adventures in Grandparenting | 1,504 Kudos (a spin-off of A Second Chance)

What to do When an Eldritch God Decides that You're Friend-Shaped: A Guide by Sir Leon the Long-Suffering | 1,170 Kudos (my current main project and my most popular Merlin fic! It's my longest fic and the one I'm most proud of!)

Blood (Red) Robin | 451 Kudos (Another Batman fic, and my first fic on ao3!)

I Would Find You, Darling, In Any Life | 217 Kudos (the fic I wrote for the Merlin Tournament of Champions challenge! I'm very proud of how it turned out!)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes, mostly. I may forget to respond from time to time, but I try to respond to them all!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

That would have to be "I Would Find You, Darling, In Any Life". I left that ending open, and I there were lots of tears and broken hearts in the comments section (in a good way)!

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Well, on ao3, "I Would Find You, Darling, In Any Life" is currently my only fic that has an ending (all the rest are WIPs). 😅

Including my fics on tumblr though, I would say that the "Merlin Accidentally Conquers Camelot" au has the happiest ending!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No. However, I did get a few nitpickers on my Batman fics arguing over the canon, for some reason. Why the hell would you argue over what's canon in the comments of a fanfic anyways? Canon doesn't need to apply here!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No, I don't. I've tried to in a couple drafts, but I'm just terrible at writing it. It's probably for the best that I just stick to silly au's!

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

No, I've never written a crossover.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not yet, but I would love it if that did happen!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but again, I would love to someday!

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Merthur has had me in a chokehold for two years now lol, so I think I have to go with them!

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

A Second Chance. I really want to finish it, but I don't really see myself having the passion for it that I once did. Maybe one day though!

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think my strengths are both the scenarios for fics and character POVs! I try to make the ideas behind my fics unique and enjoyable, and I think I succeed for the most part. And when I write from a specific character's POV, I try to focus on what the character would focus on. For instance, when I write from Leon's POV, he's focusing on his surroundings and is on the lookout for attacks, while in Gwen or Merlin's POV, I focus more on the characters, since both of them are shown to be very in tune with the people around them.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Well, procrastination for one! 😅 I would also say that being unable to stick to my outline is another weakness. I'll have the outline ready and think that it's good, but then I get a great idea as I'm actually writing the story, and then the entire thing gets derailed!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I did this with Old English using an online translator in my archeologist Merlin au, and it took me a while to figure out a good way to do it! I figured that putting the dialogue in that language with the translation below it worked best.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Batman and DC in general

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Definitely "What To Do When An Eldritch God Decides that You're Friend-Shaped". It's my longest fic by far, and my passion for that project is still burning, even if life gets in the way of writing. I think it's my best quality of writing to date, and I've really enjoyed getting to explore the characters!

No pressure tags! @justaz @larluce @fabledfrog @griffonskies @guiltyscarlet

Twenty Questions for Fanfic Writers

Thank you @liviapeleia for the asks <3!!

Tagging longtime frond @breadkween, fabulous runner of @merlinmicrofic @queerofthedagger (thank you!) and reader and writer who's left me lovely comments @achillesuwu. @mythandmagic, Ao3 is down rn so I can't check but if you have any fics yourself, here's an ask game for you! There's no obligation, presh or time limit of course! Also like @liviapeleia said before me, consider yourself tagged if you see this!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

11

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

265,960

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now just Merlin. I've written for other fandoms in the past but each of those works have been standalone.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Always His Destiny | Merlin | A true love's kiss, resurrection and golden age AU written for Glompfest 2024.

Like Every Tree Stands On Its Own | Merlin | A longfic inspired by other Arthurian media/sources featuring Wildman Prophet!Merlin and a magical forest. This is my magnum opus.

What's Mightier Than a Sword and Robs a Prince of His Servant? | Merlin | Pre-slash Merthur minor canon-divergence in which Merlin's talents in speech writing land him a promotion and Arthur is Not Pleased™.

Only Human | Venom | A short gift/exchange fic about masturbation, lol. The fic I received in exchange was also about masturbation. In my defence this was a writing exercise (I promise).

The Sky Is Falling | Nightvale | Unfinished fic about alcoholism recovery, love, community and the complete collapse of reality.

...Okay wow what a mix :D

5. Do you respond to comments?

I really love comments and I love getting into discussions with readers! It really makes my day to see that someone has commented on one of my fics.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Am I allowed to choose a soon to be published WIP? Words Are Dead, a microfic inspired by the Agnes Obel song of the same name in which Merlin and Arthur are unable to communicate when Arthur returns. Merlin has lost Brythonic, his first language, and his capacity to relearn it. He's simply been alive for far too long and his mind has suffered :(

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Like Every Tree has a prolonged bittersweet kind of ending but I think Always His Destiny wins.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope/not yet!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes, though so far it hasn't been the focus of any of my works, there's no reason why that can't change though (the Venom one doesn't count, I make the rules here). As to what kind I'd say loving and intimate, I guess? Sometimes with a bit of a hurt/comfort element to it. Again, no reason why I can't branch out in the future ;)

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

While not labelled as a crossover, Like Every Tree was heavily inspired by Arthurian media both new and old, and one medieval Irish source. I did so much research for this fic and I'm still down those various rabbit holes. It was a homage to my favourite, janky cartoon movie from my childhood Quest for Camelot. Otherwise I don't write proper crossovers.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Don't think so.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Also don't think so.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No but I would love to!

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

I guess it really has to be Merthur! I don't recall a ship ever having such a hold on me. Those two are doomed but made for each other. The way they interact is so much fun to read/write.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Damn, this is definitely Be Here When the Weather Turns, a Mushi-shi fic. It has a very soft, restful and liminal vibe and I adore it. I really do wish I can finish it someday. So sometimes like a song, you share a piece of media with someone, or you associate it with a particular chapter in your life, and that song/piece of media brings up feelings. I'd like to think it's still worth a read. If you don't know Mushi-shi, please consider checking it out, it was weird and quiet and beautiful.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I can't deny that I put a lot of love into this hobby. Also @breadkween has told me that they really like my dialogue :3

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm really prone to typos. I can re-read something a hundred times and just fail to see them. I'm a very slow writer; what I put out usually goes through months of edits and change-ups. Lastly I have embraced a faux-pas or two for fun, such as starting sentences with 'and.' And no one can stop me >:)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I'd only be comfortable writing dialogue in a language I've formerly learned and have some level of familiarity with for fear of getting something wrong.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Okay I love this question because the answer is the highly formative Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom series, a YA series I was obsessed with, and have continued to read, and re-read as an adult and as unexpected prequels and sequels popped up in more recent years. I wrote it on a literal floppy disk :D First fandom I wrote for that I actually published online was Undertale.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Definitely Like Every Tree. I'm just really proud of it :3

Merlin took one look at Arthur and knew. Merlin's ability to read people is unmatched lol!

👀

• merlin meeting arthur for the first time:

Ooh, this is interesting! Thanks for tagging me, @tansyuduri!

Now, let's put my favorites playlist on shuffle and see what we get! I'll put the Spotify links off to the side of each song.

Arsonist's Lullaby by Hozier (https://open.spotify.com/track/1UWhx0pFZccP4jdCIZsj7U?si=808c88f5fbbc4343)

The Pretender by the Foo Fighters (https://open.spotify.com/track/7x8dCjCr0x6x2lXKujYD34?si=77321619f699483e)

Take Me to Church by Hozier (https://open.spotify.com/track/1CS7Sd1u5tWkstBhpssyjP?si=3ec0e3d74a314ac9)

Dance, Dance by Fall Out Boy (https://open.spotify.com/track/0a7BloCiNzLDD9qSQHh5m7?si=122e012f050e41f7)

Jump the Gun by Halestorm (https://open.spotify.com/track/4fzA5sZld0rC4BOs1Y3VLE?si=5748f5972e214fef)

Be by Hozier (https://open.spotify.com/track/7hfi4ZTfV7akmGINh6qYCF?si=86bd0e1d41f2468b)

Fireflies by Owl City (https://open.spotify.com/track/3DamFFqW32WihKkTVlwTYQ?si=3de2623eefad4a3e)

Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana (https://open.spotify.com/track/5ghIJDpPoe3CfHMGu71E6T?si=de2a058eb9824b5f)

Rockslide by the Crane Wives (https://open.spotify.com/track/25b6bkr3XV83SLe5wNJZ8y?si=85b814fab2ef4285)

DeSelby Part 2 by Hozier (https://open.spotify.com/track/5IxqqSiDQHABfMwTGOpWe8?si=435f7dfc2f324053)

Well, take a wild guess at who my favorite artist is! 😅

No pressure tags!

@achillesuwu

@theroundbartable

@justaz

@sugar-coated-prat-dragon

@guiltyscarlet

@larluce

Music Time

@catsconflictscopicsandchamomile tagged me to put my spotify playlist on shuffle and share the first 10 songs. Unfortunatly I am a weirdo and listen to music on Youtube instead of spotify! SOOOO I did it from there! BEHOLD!

Basically I put every song I like, that reminds me of characters of mine or me sister, (Mostly From when we do our Daily Larp Walks but also mine from other places) Or from or related to Movies or shows I like. (Well that I remember to add) It started as something for when I was grinding in video games. Then it just became my main music playlist!

@calamity-talvi @groundbreakingdot872 @saurix5 @247merthur @miyriu

@1shadowhole @kadenemrys @tiny-and-witchy @oakfiddle @toomanyfanficsbruh

@ramblings-of-a-chaotic-neutral @samwinjester @thedaselcor @alex-the-bringer-of-chaos @shana-rosee

And anyone else! I am tagging so many people because I am curious and also I wanna see if I find any songs to add to my list hehe

Series 1 Trailer for @larluce's awesome Time Travel AU!

Merlin's arms strain with the effort of hauling Arthur, barely-conscious, towards the misty shores of Avalon. It takes little more than his presence to call the Sidhe forth from their sanctuary in the lake, but Arthur groans with both pain and shock as their winged blue forms fly out of the water.

"You must save him! I am willing to give up my own life, but he must live!"

Arthur weakly struggled in Merlin's supportive arms, protesting Merlin's plan now that it had become clear that Merlin was set on self-sacrifice.

Hovering above the gleaming surface if the lake, one Sidhe gave Merlin a sharp, almost menacing, grin.

"While we cannot take your life to exchange for his, Emrys, there is another sacrifice you can make that would save your king."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Arthur gently places a young tree that's barely tall enough to brush against his knees into a prepared spot in the center of the royal gardens.

There are no tears on his face, for he ran out of those long ago.

"I hope you like the view from here, Merlin. I think you'll be able to see out over all of Camelot in a couple years."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The knights watched as Arthur viciously pulls out the axes that had been stuck in the tree's trunk and had carved a large gouge in its base. Arthur whirled around at them, and many, including his closest companions on the round table, flinched back at his near-feral expression.

Arthur's eyes locked into the spy responsible for this.

"Anyone who so much as touches this tree pays for their transgression with their head."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So you can perform the spell, then?"

"We can, your majesty, but only with the proper materials. A blade bearing the lifeblood of 300 men and 3 dragon scales are not easy to come by."

Arthur leans forward from where he's sitting on his throne, his eyes wild in a way that disturbingly reminds the druid delegation of the look in Uther Pendragon's eyes as he hunted down every living creature with a hint of magic.

"Do not concern yourselves with that. I will gather these materials for you. Just make sure that you can perform the ritual successfully when the time comes."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two pairs of eyes, the owners of which both believed themselves to be dead moments before, blink open to the same sunny morning. An unforgettable morning that they had both lived through before, many years prior.

This was, after all, the morning that their destiny was set into motion.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope you enjoyed this! I tried to write some scenes that are implied in larluce's au, but are never directly shown, so that you aren't spoiled for many scenes in the au!

Check out the time travel au here! (You should definitely go read it right now because it's awesome!!)

What's he cooking up in there? 🤔

(Now I kinda want to write an au where Arthur returns, but he got body swapped with either Freya or Lancelot, or maybe one where Arthur returns but Freya and Lancelot's souls are stuck with him inside his mind lol!)

the hell is he making in there

I absolutely love this, and the fic is amazing! Everyone, go read this right now!!

Also, the fic had me thinking, what about the reverse situation? Where the tyrant Arthur who never met Merlin is transported into the canon timeline?

I would think one of two things might happen: 1. Canon Arthur knows, deep down, what he would have become without Merlin present in his life, so as soon as he learns that this Arthur never met Merlin, he's getting thrown in the dungeons before he can do any harm, or 2: Merlin meets dark Arthur and thinks that he's canon Arthur under an enchantment, so now he's having to suffer dark Arthur's abuse while trying desperately to find a cure (at least until he realizes that this is a different Arthur from his own entirely).

I love this entire idea so much!! Incredible work as always @theroundbartable! 😊

Arthur wakes up in a Camelot where Merlin has never come to Camelot.

At first, Arthur is so distracted by Merlin's absence, that he doesn't realize how everyone is staring at him strangely.

Arthur: Is something the matter?

Knight: Are you - Excuse me, Sire - You are so calm today. Is everything alright?

Arthur: Calm? How on earth am I calm? Merlin is gone!"

Knight: Yes but ... Aside from this mysterious Merlin... You haven't chosen a servant today.

Arthur: If they aren't Merlin, then it doesn't matter.

Knight: *Wide eyes* You beat up this Merlin person?

Arthur: If I WHAT?!

OMG! This is so cute!! 😍

“You look like a startled stoat.”

had a bad week, so I treated myself to some stoat!merlins

(individual shots & poll under cut)

I’m also thinking of getting some printed as stickers for myself, if others are interested:

Oh, this is one of my favorite Merlin fic tropes. I'd read (or write, if I had enough time and caffeine) a thousand of fics involving this specific story element and I'd never get bored! I love fics exploring all of the possibilities of god-of-magic Merlin SO MUCH!!

(As my readers on ao3 can probably tell, based on the relative words counts of my Merlin fics. 😅 A certain fic of mine centered around this premise is much longer than the others lol!)

I legit need this fandom to refer to Merlin as “god of magic” more often, I desperately need it.

This is a good point. Arthur, either willingly or subconsciously, always has a simplified (and somewhat idealized) version of Merlin in his head, which lets him treat Merlin without respect up until he actually needs Merlin's wisdom and guidance, but then he immediately reverts back to treating Merlin as he always has.

While I was watching the show for the first time, I thought Arthur treated Merlin like an emotional support teddy bear. The teddy bear is soft and comforting and keeps the nightmares away, and Arthur takes Merlin with him everywhere, even where he isn't needed, as a child with a favorite teddy bear might. But that teddy bear, in Arthur's eyes, is only an object, only there to comfort its owner, so why would he care about the teddy bear's wants or needs? It doesn't have any anyways!

This is why Arthur drags Merlin everywhere with him, regardless of what Merlin himself wants. And, like a favorite teddy bear, Merlin gets dirty, torn up, and damaged from the job of being there for Arthur, but Arthur never notices, too stuck focusing on what Merlin should do for him to see Merlin's current state.

Merlin is kind of like a dog to Arthur. I mean this in all of the good and all of the bad ways.

I'd definitely watch that, but I would want to know if the writers would give Uther a weird amount of sexual tension with young Gaius (or maybe young Balinor). Because there was SOME past there, and I'm honestly kinda scared to find out lol!

Prequel idea:

In a land of chaos and a time of dragons, the fate of a great Kingdom, rests on the shoulders of a young man. His name?

Uther

(a series in five seasons)

*Holds up megaphone* YESSSSSSS!!!!! I LOVE IT!!

I love stories where Camelot has preconceived notions of Emrys that were leftover from the purge! It has so much potential! Angst, humor, misunderstandings, self-reflection, it has it all! I wish more fics would explore it.

(This also reminds me of an au idea that's been sitting in my drafts for months. I should probably finish that one!)

One of the first prophecies in Albion was of Emrys and the Once and Future King. Every Seer in the realm had similar visions of the two powerful, glorious beings that would one day walk the earth. The prophecies remained prophecies for a few centuries before it began to grow into a fairytale story. Children were told stories of Emrys and the Once and Future King that would one day bring peace to Albion. Then it grew more and more as a story that people began to forget it was once a prophecy. When Uther began his Purge, he changed the story he himself had grown up hearing. He made Emrys out to be a creature of pure evil. If Emrys was magic incarnate, he couldn’t be anything other than evil. Children still heard of Emrys after the Purge, but he was a boogeyman, a villain that would snatch disobeying children from their homes and feast of them in the woods.

Arthur grew up hearing tales of the horrible, fearsome Emrys. Uther used Emrys as a tool to get Arthur to behave and be a perfect prince. Merlin heard of the fairytale version of Emrys from his mother. The Druids continued to worship Emrys as their deity but people thought them mad, he’s nothing more than a character in a story, but the Druids never forgot the prophecy. And with their Sight, their ability to recognize Emrys on sight, Uther lumped Druids in with the evilness he had slapped on Emrys’ name. He said the Druids performed sacrifices and rituals in Emrys’ name to try and conjure the demon to steal children’s souls.

Anyways, post-magic reveal Mordred calls Merlin Emrys and Arthur just freezes bc he Knows that Mordred is a Druid, and he Knows that Druids worship Emrys and would not take his name in vain or call someone else the name of their deity, and he was brought up hearing stories of Emrys being a demon, pure evil. So he just kinda. Looks. At Merlin who just grumbles about being called that but responds as if it’s normal and Arthur is a bit terrified. He’s like “You’re Emrys?” To Merlin who shrugs and is like “I guess” (unaware of the horrifying stories Uther spun of Emrys, only knowing what his mother and Kilgharrah said and how the Druids worship him).

The other knights have heard of the Demon Emrys except Percival who grew up in Druid camps but doesn’t have their Sight so he didn’t know Merlin was Emrys until right now. Gwaine laughing a little uncomfortably to break the tension and is like “So…taste any good children lately?” Arthur slaps him up back the head. Merlin just looks disgusted and confused. Mordred and Percival are offended on his behalf. Lancelot is amused by it all and sits back to watch the chaos. Leon and Elyan are shaking their heads at Gwaine’s stupidity. Why the hell would he say something like that to a DEMON????

This is hilarious! What might be even funnier is if returned!Arthur (or even canon era Arthur post magic reveal), can always see through Merlin's disguises, such that Merlin, no matter what form he takes, always looks like the young man that Arthur knows.

So people around them see Arthur flirting with and crushing hard on this old man, and they think he has a weird kink or maybe is in some sort of sugar baby situation, while Arthur has absolutely no clue that Merlin looks like an old man to everyone else! 😆

Broke: They had to have Dolma as an old lady because a young woman would have been too recognizable for Arthur, who regularly clocks Merlin’s disguises through his eyes alone.

Woke: They had to have Dolma as an old lady because a young woman would have sent Morgana Pendragon barreling out of her bog to make an introduction to the pretty new sorceress in town.

Bespoke: Gwaine was not allowed to meet Dolma as an old lady because he would have flirted with her on sight and Merlin would have gone with it.

Another thought on this, you know what would also be funny? If Arthur, Merlin, and the knights, while on a quest, came across a colony of trolls living in a cave.

Of course, they all prepare to be attacked by the angry trolls, but then one troll barks out in a gravelly voice, "Wait, isn't that human with the gold sword Grolda's stepson?"

The trolls pause and look at Arthur, and they start murmuring amongst themselves, while Arthur, Merlin, and the knights all glance at each other, very confused, but they begin to creep back towards the exit while the trolls are distracted by whatever they're talking about.

Before they can make it to the exit and escape though, the trolls turn back to them with grotesque smiles on their faces. Suddenly, one of the trolls started speaking to Arthur, who had to resist the urge to violently flinch backwards at the smell of its breath.

"Well, we had heard that that old wench had gone and disguised herself as some ugly princess to trick the king of Camelot into marrying her, but none of us thought she'd ever get away with it! It turns out you humans are a bit thicker in the head than you think! Never thought we'd be seeing you around these parts though!"

Arthur and Merlin both take sharp inhales at that, realizing now that these trolls must have known the one that pretended to be Catrina and infiltrated Camelot.

The group of trolls then starts to crowd around the group of humans, putting them on the defensive. The trolls push them back, further into the cave and towards a long slab of rock that looked like it was being used as a long feasting table, if the rotten fruit and meat piled up on it was any indication.

Arthur's anxiety increased with each step back he was forced to take. Were these trolls aiming to avenge their friend? Oh god, were the trolls looking to make a meal out of them?!

Arthur swung his sword at the troll in front of him with all his might, fueled by fear and desperation. He couldn't meet his end at the hands of these disgusting creatures!

To Arthur's horror though, the beast simply caught his arm in an inhumanly strong grip and laughed, his breath somehow smelling even worse than before.

"You've got some fight in ya! I'm sure you'll fit right in, but that still no way to greet family!"

Arthur lowered his arm, confusion somehow overpowering his fear. "Family?" His tone was filled with disgust, confusion, and sheer disbelief.

The troll grinned at him again, this time slinging a grimy arm over Arthur's shoulders.

"Of course! I should introduce myself. The name's Bronk, and I'm your step-uncle!"

(Merlin almost couldn't stop himself from laughing hysterically, but he managed to barely stifle his laughs.)

And that's how Arthur found himself, dumbfounded, sitting with Merlin and the knights at a feasting table filled with rotten food, listening to his new "extended family" introduce themselves and discuss all the best ways to introduce him to the troll lifestyle.

The trolls all tolerated the knights, but funnily enough, they seemed to be enjoying Merlin's company, laughing at the stories that the manservant was telling them. At Arthur's questioning look, Merlin shrugs and says "It's not that different from sitting with the knights during feasts. They have all the same manners anyways, and at least the trolls don't demand me to fetch them more mead."

And that's how Arthur got forcefully adopted by his troll stepfamily! :D

(also @sugar-coated-prat-dragon, since I promised you something fluffy! <3)

You know what's one thing I'm disappointed we never got in Merlin? After the troll episodes, the entire event was never brought up again!

I mean, I understand if the people of Camelot would rather forget about the whole thing, but Arthur had a troll for a stepmother for like a week and Merlin never teased him about it later on?!

I would really like to write a fic or au some day set in the Golden Age where it's discovered that dragonlords got their powers from being descended from ancient powerful dragons that shapeshifted in humans and had half-human children.

And Arthur's reaction is to turn to Merlin and go "So what you're telling me is that one of your ancestors was deranged enough to sleep with a dragon? That certainly confirms my theory that your insanity is passed down through your blood."

And of course Merlin immediately fires back, "And remind me Sire, which of our family trees includes a troll?"

Arthur sputters for a moment before shouting that that doesn't count, she enchanted his father and the whole thing was a trick, before Geoffrey pipes up and says, "Actually sire, as it was an official wedding, Queen Catrina the Troll was officially added to the Pendragon family tree. And as the marriage was never formally annulled before her death, she cannot be removed from the record."

Arthur's left horrified by this, while Merlin's laughing his ass off.

I just think a scene like that would be neat!

These tags are some amazing angst ideas, OP! I'd also love to see more fics explore Merlin having a deep-seated fear of fire from the threat of the pyre hanging over his head for so many years.

merlin magic reveal fic where arthur asks “why didn’t you tell me?” and merlin says, mirthless smile and haunted eyes “all my dreams end in fire. fire and burning and dying”

Ooh, I like this! Arthur trying to be a good caretaker (but not always succeeding because he doesn't know what he's doing, but he's trying all the same) always hit me in the feels!

Sick fic except no one is sick.

Merlin is tired of the tavern excuse and at this point, Arthur doesn't really believe the 'gathering herbs' thing either anymore.

So, Merlin tells Arthur he's sick.

Except he didn't account for the fact that Arthur becomes a terrified worryward of a mess. Merlin, thinking he's got some time alone, is now chained to his bed with Arthur feeding him soup and 'checking his temperature', only that Arthur has no clue what he's doing.

Merlin on the other hand can only think of the assassin and.... 'Actually, this is nice.'

YES!! I love this!

I will always go feral for Emrys's true form being something distinctly non-human, as Emrys is magic itself. Normally, I see that interpreted as Merlin's true form as Emrys being a giant, powerful creature, but this is the first time I've seen a version of that where Emrys makes himself smaller in a certain situation. I love it!

of the old religion

there are consequences to being a creature of magic, of the old religion, of power and energy given form.

merlin is not human, no matter what he thinks. the body he has is just a second skin, a coat over the tumultuous magic beneath, so that it had shape, form. he looks human, he thinks human, he feels human. but he is not truly human.

it’s why shapeshifting spells work so well upon him. he’s not changing himself, just the look of the skin he’s wearing. the magic beneath has no true form, and thus cannot be changed when it is everything everywhere all at once.

(the magic that makes merlin is the magic that makes the world, so it has no shape and to look upon it with mortal eyes would be a headache inducing, nauseating ever-shifting thing, that moves through different features of different magical beings like the water of a lake rippling.)

OR

someone with a deep connection to the old religion can see that emrys is no true human. just a creature of magic wearing a human skin, a shapeshifter that refuses to show its true form. (because people say emrys is magic, but no one truly understands the roiling thing living and breathing inside his skin. so obviously there has to be a true form of emrys underneath the image of merlin.)

so they decide to rip that human skin off. force the shape beneath to show itself. tear away the visage of merlin to leave behind only emrys, the creature that will bring magic back to the land or so help them.

it takes a lot of energy and power, and the use of ancient artifacts of the old religion that have been slowly gathering magic for centuries. but they manage it, they bind the human skin to an object, and tear the object away, to leave behind only emrys.

…

except emrys is not made for mortal eyes. especially not the eyes of someone who had hurt them and tore away their shape, their form. (because emrys, as a creature of magic, is still heartbreakingly young. a child, really. maybe that’s why merlin is still so wide-eyed all the time. still young at heart, even as his body looks older.)

so they look upon emrys and burn.

and emrys, lost and confused and hurt and not understanding— where is their body why do they hurt what is wrong with them they are constantly changing shapes and cannot control it and theyre so scared— flees to the only thing they know for sure. and behind them, amongst the mess of ash and scorched earth that once was alive, the object holding their skin lies abandoned, forgotten.

OR

arthur finds the embodiment of magic huddled up against his bedroom window. he doesn’t recognize it immediately as such, but it glows golden and cannot seem to stop subtlety changing shape and growing features that were not there before while losing others. and really, he picks up on the fact eventually.

to reiterate, arthur pendragon, son of the magic-hating king, a young man who had not yet decided if he would hate it the same, has the embodiment of magic hiding outside his window.

he shouldn’t open it. shouldn’t let the pathetic, forcing-itself-to-be-small thing inside.

it howls and cries without words, a sad and fearful air pressing down on him, begging begging helphelphelphelpsomethingswrongsomethingswrongtheytookawaymybodyarthurarthurarthurhelphelphelphelphe—

arthur opens the window.

as the magic flies in, it takes a more solid, in the loosest form of the word, form, dragon-like and small. young. it hides in the crook of his neck, tucks its head in close and shivers.

arthur feels almost like he has let in a frightened bird, it is so small and fluttery.

merlin’s gone missing and there is something small and magical and highly illegal hiding against the small hollow between his neck and shoulders.

he leaves it there.

OR

arthur holds a power he does not quite understand in his hands. he knows it is greater than its form, can feel the pressing weight of something that belies the tiny body.

he knows it is magic. perhaps that is all he really needs to know.

and then he does something that feels exceedingly foolish.

“i’m looking for merlin, my… manservant,” he begins, and the golden thing ripples like a lake in the wind, “can you find where he was taken?”

at least seven eyes blink into existence upon the roiling magical creature, all of them looking up at arthur. another blink, and then they vanish. in their place, wings sprout, some of them draconian in shape, others more bird-like and feathery.

a tail, tiny and yet impossibly strong, wraps around his wrist, and the thing takes flight, pulling him along.

the knights startle, when arthur appears, being seemingly dragged behind a creature no bigger than a songbird, and so breathtakingly magical in spite of it.

“well?” arthur asks, acerbic. “prepare your steeds. we’ve finally gotten a lead on merlin.”

OR

they find a wasteland.

there is nothing left alive in a large circle, all of it surrounding an ancient building now nothing but rubble. the life is not burned away, or diseased into nothing, or anything that could be argued as natural.

instead, it is a wasteland that magic had abandoned. that intrinsic thing within all things, alive and not, had fled this place, ushered out by a fearful and terrified little godling ripped away from the only skin-home it had ever known.

nothing lives here and nothing will ever live here.

it is an ill omen indeed.

and then they discover the sorcerer’s bones, and the fact that said sorcerer was not in fact working alone.

“you,” the only other living being in about a mile spits out like a curse, upon sighting the king, “what have you done with them? where is the being below the skin?”

none of the knights nor the king understand. the little creature of magic had hidden itself in the folds of arthur’s cape, another golden draconian insignia among the rest.

“the what?” arthur asks.

“where is emrys?” the sorcerer spits, summoning a stream of fire heading directly for the king.

magic itself, given form, bursts from the camelot red cape, all golden edges and vengeful anger, the tiny thing no larger than an arm suddenly expanding rapidly. it forms a gigantic serpent, or something like it, lithe and long, but with the beak of a bird of prey, eyes like a feline, a unicorn’s horn on its head. it eats the fire whole, and the giant form bears down on the suddenly cowering sorcerer.

“but—but we freed you,” they mutter, afraid, “we released you from the human shell containing you. how else… how else could you bring back magic…?”

the thing cannot speak, it has no way to do so. what it can do is press feeling into your head. whatever this is, it is so powerful everyone there can feel it, and perhaps even some that are much further away.

G I V E I T B A C K.

it feels nothing like the helpless pained crying that arthur had heard from outside his window, like a yowling alley cat. this monster is nothing like the little bird-like afraid thing that had hidden in his collar, tucked against his throat. this beast of dripping fangs and deadly edges is almost completely separate from the creature of fluttery wings and wide eyes.

and yet he can hear something distinctly afraid in the wailing howl.

it is still desperate and afraid. it’s just angry enough now to cover it up.

Ooh, I always love thinking about the implications of Arthur's soul being created by magic.

That's because we know that Merlin is magic itself! He's magic made human! Which essentially means that Merlin created Arthur's soul, even before he was born as a human.

Do you think that Merlin, on some level, recognized himself in Arthur the moment they met? That his soul and Arthur's were quite literally made from the same material? That Arthur is a part of himself in a literal sense, and he cannot be whole without him?

I just love all of the door that interpretation opens up for the story!

in the show’s lore if arthur is born “of magic” and therefore not “of uther” does that then make him only “of igraine” who bore him?

and then further, does that mean that, in truth, he is not related to morgana and she is the only “true” pendragon?

interesting i guess also that arthur was conceived in desperation for the pendragon line to continue and it was with his death that it ultimately ended heirless

i can hear the writers yelling being like you weren’t meant to think this hard about the show lmao

every aspect of arthur’s life being infected with tragedy hits as hard as the truck in the epilogue

anyway…as you were

Another thought on Epic the Musical, do you want to know one detail that kills me every time?

If you look at the titles of the songs, the ONLY songs that are named after characters are songs that are named after monsters that are trying to slaughter as many people as possible (like Polyphemus, Scylla, and Charybdis). No human character or even any god gets a song named after them, only the monsters do.

But (MINOR SPOILER AHEAD), do you know what song 38 is titled? Odysseus.

Odysseus, the man made monster, who has become something so far from his own humanity that he is counted within the ranks of the terrible monsters that came earlier in the story. Odysseus, who will absolutely be trying to slaughter as many suitors as possible when he returns to Ithaca.

It's such a small detail, but it gets me every time I think about it! Because not only has Odysseus become a monster in the eyes of the other characters, but he has become one in the eyes of THE VERY MUSICAL ITSELF!

AHHHHHHHHH!!!

I love Gwaine so much! He's so 🥺 when it comes to Merlin and it gets me every time! 😭

If no merwaine then explain this

Hello everyone! I'm back with a (kinda late) spooky au! This is the monster-themed au that won the last poll, so here we go!

In this au, set in season 4 (post-Aithusa), where, after feeling Aithusa call to him from within her egg, Merlin could now sense dragon eggs.

Since dragons mated every year and laid multiple eggs each time, and there were only so many dragonlords around to hatch them, there were hundreds of dragon eggs hidden around Albion, waiting for a dragonlord to get close enough for them to call out to, yearning for the world outside of their shells. And since the dragonlords were nearly wiped out in the purge, those hundreds of eggs were still hidden, still waiting for a dragonlord to call them into life.

And now that Merlin can recognize their calls and knows how to call them forth them their eggs, he collects and hatches as many dragon eggs as he can, determined to bring the magical creatures back to their former glory.

And this goes fairly smoothly, except for one issue: he needs a place to hide all of them. They're all still so young, despite growing rather quickly, and the world is still hostile towards dragons, not seeing them as the majestic creatures of wonder that they are.

So, Merlin finds a hidden place for all of them to nest: an underground cave system beneath a mountain. It was near enough to Camelot that he could visit frequently, and the tunnels were large enough for all of them to have their own space, even as the number of baby dragons grew from five, to ten, to twenty, to well over seventy baby dragons took refuge inside the caves.

Aithusa was delighted by each new baby sibling Merlin brought to her in the caves, and she took care of them as best she could. (Kilgharrah, the rubbish babysitter, was not invited to the nests, as he would surely fill the babies' heads with all sort of nonsense about hating humans.)

And so, Merlin kept this up for well over a year, hatching dragons and bringing them to the nests, where he would be bombarded by baby dragons looking to cuddle with their egg-father. He loved spending time with all of them, but he worried about them too. What would happen when grew too large for the caves? Where would they go? Would they be safe?

But as the young dragons grew, they were content to stay in their hidden sanctuary, keeping each other company and eagerly awaiting their egg-father's sporadic visits. They especially enjoyed his stories of Camelot and his golden king. They loved to imagine the man their father was describing, a man with gold for hair and jewels for eyes. He must be the greatest treasure in all the lands! It was no wonder their great and powerful dragonlord kept him safe in his hoard!

And it went on like this for several years, up until Morgana heard rumors of strange growls and reports of terrible beasts coming from the caves underneath the White Mountains. Upon hearing these rumors and sensing with her magic that were was a small army of powerful magical beasts within the caves, she came up with the brilliant plan of luring Arthur, Merlin, and the knights into these tunnels and trapping them there. Those beasts, whatever they were, would surely make quick work of all of them!

Her plan, of course, succeeds. After all, she knew that using a knight as bait would lure all of them into the caves, and then using her magic to collapse all of the exits was simple work. As she walked away from the mountain, she cackled with furious glee. At long last, all of her enemies were doomed! Camelot was hers for the taking!

Meanwhile, underneath the mountain, Arthur, Merlin, and the knights were all trapped. While they hadn't run into any of the monsters Morgana had mentioned, they could hear growls echoing off of the stone walls, heralding their doom getting closer and closer.

(The growling, translated from dragontongue: Papa! Papa! Papa's back!)

As the sounds of the ferocious growling grew closer and closer, they could see the shadows of the beasts approaching on the walls of the cave. They were enormous, with wings and claws! Arthur and the knights all drew their swords, ready to fight to the end against a mob of these horrid beasts.

As the monsters came into view, the shocked gasp came from the group. Before them was an impossible sight, dozens of dragons, each as long as two men and as tall as Percival!

(Merlin gasped at the sight because his babies had suddenly hit growth spurts! They were so much bigger than the last time he saw them!)

Arthur and all his knights braced themselves for what would be a devastating attack from the monsters, when suddenly, to their horror, Merlin ran out in front of them!

"Merlin! This is no time for your sacrificial idiocy! Get back behind us!"

But Merlin didn't even glance back at them, h simply ran forwards towards the beasts!

Arthur gave out a heart-wrenching cry as the monsters pounced on his friend, their razor-sharp claws tearing through his skin and their horrid jaws opening to bite at his flesh.

(Merlin, meanwhile, was being cuddled and playfully licked by his dragons, who took great care to keep their claws and teeth away from their egg-father's soft human skin.)

With a savage and anguished war cry, Arthur ran forward, sword in hand, praying that Merlin was still in one piece. Jolted out of their horror by Arthur's cry, the other knights follow, ready to slay these monsters and save Merlin from their grasp!

The dragons, who recognize Arthur from Merlin's descriptions of him, dart forward, excited to finally meet the golden king that their lord talks so much about! The golden king was as radiant as their lord said he was, and he even gave a play roar and charged at them! He wanted to play and be their friend!

His strange gray hand-fang stung a little bit when it hit their scales, but it hurt no more than their siblings' claws when they were play-fighting together.

The young dragons had a great time playing with all their new friends, who gave play roars and hit them with those strange gray fangs. Their new friends were so fast too, not letting the dragons hit them easily.

This went on for a while, until Aithusa become too excited by all of the play fighting and accidentally knocked the golden king down too hard, knocking the air out of him.

Aithusa whined apologetically as she walked over to him, opening her mouth so that she could breath her healing breath on him, when he suddenly grabbed his grey-fang and aimed it at her open mouth, ready to strike. Aithusa flinched back in surprise, but the golden king's movement was halted by a call from her lord.

"STOP!"

Everyone, knights and dragons alike, froze at the order, even though the command had not been given in dragontongue. Aithusa whined in apology again. She hadn't meant to hurt her lord's king! She had just forgotten he was less sturdy than her siblings!

"Merlin! You're alright! Come quickly, we must leave before these beasts... why is that dragon nuzzling you like an overgrown housecat?"

Merlin gave Arthur his most innocent look, but it wasn't very convincing. Sighing, Merlin wrapped his arms around Aithusa's neck and hugged her, which caused her to start purring with joy, much to the knights' shock.

"Well, you see, I kinda... found a dragon egg out in the woods one day? And I couldn't just leave it all by itself, anything could have happened to it, so I put it somewhere safe! And then, it hatched! And I couldn't just leave the poor baby to fend for herself, so I brought her here, where I thought she'd be safe and not bother anyone. But then I couldn't just leave her alone here, so I came back to visit her and bring her food!

And then, I started finding more dragon eggs and brought all of them here and took care of them!"

Merlin finished his rushed explanation with a smile, hoping that Arthur would just buy it and not ask any questions, like how Merlin found any dragon eggs in the first place. By the end of his explanation, Arthur had gone from alarmed to completely exasperated.

"So what you mean to tell me, Merlin, is that you found dragon eggs, and, instead of killing them before they could become threats, chose to raise them like they were stray kittens instead?"

Arthur's tone indicated that yes, he had bought Merlin's lie, and yes, he also thought Merlin was a much bigger idiot than he did before.

Merlin just nodded, praying to anyone that would listen that none of the knights would possess any critical thinking skills and start poking holes in Merlin's hastily made-up story.

Merlin's fears were alleviated when Gwaine began laughing hysterically, walked fearlessly between the dragons, and clasped a hand on Merlin's shoulder.

"My friend, I knew you were a special kind of crazy for putting up with Arthur all these years, but this! This beats any insane stunt you've done before! You've just tamed dragons, you madman! Hell, you've got them all wrapped around your finger by the looks of it!"

Gwaine, amazed and almost giddy, looked around at the dragons, who were contently cuddling up around Merlin now, tired from all of the play fighting.

Merlin rubbed the back of his neck, nervous and slightly embarrassed at all of the attention. The other knights looked on in wonder as Merlin told the dragons to go off the sleep in the nest, and they all listened. He really had tamed them!

Merlin turned and gave Arthur, who was still looked at Merlin with frustration and disbelief, a nervous smile.

"So, uh, it's probably a bit late to be asking this, but do you think I can keep them in Camelot?"

And that's all for now! I had a lot of fun writing about Merlin army of baby dragons! Please let me know if you'd like a continuation of this!

And, as always, thank you for reading through my ramblings!

My Epic the Musical obsession has been violently reawakened after the Vengeance Saga, and I felt the need to make this:

"John Wick brutally murdered everyone who broke into his home and killed his pet, and everyone in the audience cheers him on. But when I, Polyphemus, do the same, I am called a 'monster who killed a beloved character'. What a double standard!"

👀

My angst senses are tingling! This is such a cool role reversal idea!!

foaming at the mouth at evil arthur because of that one fanart sebehdndbgs obsessed:

morgana and arthur swap roles. Morgana ruled as queen with gwen at her side to honor uther’s legacy and arthur doing absolutely everything to tear the kingdom apart.

arthur went rogue for all the hypocrisy and lies of uther reign. He was furious about his mother, the final straw when he saw just how much his other half sacrificed himself for him and then when he saw his father driving excalibur into his heart.

Morgana keeping everything in order so the kingdom wont fall apart in the lost of their two kings. because this will be the kingdom that brings the golden age.

arthur despises it. Every single person who spouts about destiny and prophecies. a child cruelly treated just because he’s the one who’ll bring arthur’s end. His heart ache. He made an oath to bring ruin to camelot with excalibur on his side.

My mentality for the next 24 hours:

reblog this if you're okay with booping spams please !!