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regulusrules · 1 year

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Ranking the best 10 Merlin episodes + a fic rec based on each one:

(absolutely not based on how gay they were) ((no order for the eps; they're all chef's kiss)) (((last two fics have a hold on me that levels the show itself; worth scrolling for)))

1. The Poisoned Chalice

Look. There is something just absolutely entrancing about introducing this episode in the first five of the entire show. Like, this hands-on was the sole reason everyone fell for those two idiots. It beautifully captured how the saving each other thing is reciprocal, because the first three episodes you just have to watch Merlin run around saving Arthur, never the reverse. Producing it early on in the show was the decision that, in my opinion, held everyone in their chokehold for eternity.

Fic rec: you are my favorite mistake (it can only be fate) by @multifandom-jess.

2. The Death Song of Uther Pendragon

I could go on and on for how this episode singlehandedly carried s5 on its shoulder. Like, okay I unfortunately love s5 with all my fucking heart, but this episode was perfect. Ghosts? Check. Banter? Check. POETRY?? Check check. A slap to Uther's face? Oh how beautifully checked.

It's so easy to recall how Arthur truly loved his father, but in this episode, the turmoil you see in his eyes from the actions of his father and how he resorts to saving the ones he loves (Merlin) over his father, is just too beautiful to be overlooked. Ever since Arthur became king, we see him struggle from his father's legacy. But in this episode, he begins to detach both consciously and subconsciously from him. Whether it's in his decision to save the old sorceress in the beginning, or to shun Uther's ghost, both the literal and the figurative, from his life any longer. This was one of the episodes that captured the true essence of King Arthur.

+1: the innuendos of this episode were 🤌. They knew what they were doing, you can't convince me otherwise. (are you threatening me with a spoon? / I'm teaching him some poetry.. he can't get enough of it! / what was that? h-horseplay. why don't I show you?)

Fic rec: My heart is readily yours by @regulusrules. (absolutely love how after all this introspection, i decided to throw it all away and made uther stab merlin in the fucking heart instead. but still it was my honourable attempt to shit on the finale and give them the happy ending everyone deserved).

3. The Sword in the Stone pt. 2

OKAY. This episode! Aside from how badass Merlin was in both pt.1&2, but here, especially in the part where us audience were impatiently waiting for the revival of the sword in the stone, there could've been nothing more perfect. Just like their adaptation of the round table scene, this was perfect in its own way for how different it was. They didn't make it so that people will finally find a king; they made it so that the people believe in their king. And more than that, for Arthur to believe in himself. With the estrangement and losing his crown, the writers gave him the best way to re-establish his inner glory. And Merlin being this guide; what more perfect culmination to their relationship?

You have to believe, Arthur.

Iconic.

Fic rec: Couldn't choose between Only Friend by @captain-ozone, and Fathom Me Out by @supercalvin. Brilliance ahead in both of them, I tell you.

4. The Eye of the Phoenix

Magic. Gwaine. Quests. Need I say more to explain that this was the show's holy trinity?

Fic rec: From Past to Present by flowersheep. (Prince Merlin. Archer Merlin. Perfection my friends).

5. A Servant of Two Masters

Look look; if there's an honourary wall of opinions for all the people who've watched Merlin, I DARE you to find just one who disliked this episode. Like, the series was so full of BS sometimes, but this episode was above all. The level of brilliance in this episode; showing Dark!Merlin, who's at the same time hilariously funny, and seeing him BAMF his way with Morgana, even when he's chained and tortured.. oh dear holy Lord. His "do me a favour, could you? let Arthur know." was able to steal all breath from my lungs the first time I saw it (and until now).

And don't get me started on the Protective!Arthur we got. Caring for Merlin, screaming for him when the rocks fell between them, silencing Agravaine immediately when he told him he's sorry for losing such a loyal servant because bullshit if he doesn't reign down hell before he loses Merlin. And ofc, Courage and Strength on their way to find Magic, which just filled my heart with an 'aaahhh!' moment, because we didn't get enough Gwaine-Arthur-Merlin shenanigans. And at last, the Hug™. Fucking screamed let me tell you.

It is an episode that truly showed everything; from comic elements to fluff and angst and everything. The only thing it lacked was, as always, giving Arthur the space to know. Because ffs what would they have lost if they made Arthur understand that Merlin's under Morgana's control? It wouldn't have exposed shit. It would've just been a plus to us to see Arthur caring for Merlin even more. They tried so hard that it completely backfired sometimes.

Fic rec: Still I Surface in Morning Light by @queerofthedagger. (I swear to you, anything written by this author, I readily throw whatever in hand to read it).

6. The Dragon's Call

Let thy gif caption speak.

No but really, that first episode was the stuff of legends. I could list down tens of tropes they did in just that episode alone. Honestly, no "family" show I've ever seen had started this powerfully. Just the music alone, the beauty of beginnings, not the CGI, was truly so gripping. Also bonus points for just Colin Morgan's sass abilities. None can compare.

Fic rec: This Time Around... series (incomplete) by Oneiric (lkdaswani). (this is a time travel AU, but the way the writer rewrote this episode was one of the best deviations I've read for an episode I already find near faultless).

7. The Sins of the Father

I might be subjecting myself to true wrath with my upcoming statement, but here we go:

S2 sucked.

From the beginning of the season, Arthur's shift in characterization from the honourable lovable prat of s1 to a letting Merlin act as a horse stool got me going wtf? It was like they deliberately ruined everything in their relationship and started out fresh just to force the Arthurian narrative of Arwen. And it's fine by me, truly, even if I'll never ship them, but they could've developed Arthur's character SO MUCH in that season beyond comic relief and romantic rendezvous.

Anyway so that I don't stray so much from the topic; this episode was, by fair comparison, the best in the entire season. By now it's pretty obvious that I gravitate towards all the episodes that give Arthur a semblance of agency. Him going against Uther and his maniac murderous agenda was the start of actually seeing King Arthur in front of us. Also, him listening to Merlin when he was on the verge of committing patricide was one of the things that gave me hope in how there's still hope in them. Even if they ruined it with making Merlin lie to Arthur, but the writers practically ruined every good episode with this.

+1: Morgause's intro was badass.

Fic rec: The Sins of the Father (and how to right them) by @cupcakezys. (what we deserved. to see arthur with agency, with an ability to decide for his future without being lied and deceived to).

8. Diamond of the Fucking Day

No matter how much I hate this episode, I can't, in good conscience, deny its hold on my heart. As I wrote before, there could've been no better magic reveal than this. And for all of my bitterness over their decision to kill Arthur, I sanely admit how it was a decision that insured the immortality of this fandom. It's been ten years since that episode aired, and I bet my ass off that it will still feel the same even after countless more decades.

Fic rec: literally the entirety of the fandom's fix-it fics. We all started from there, didn't we? Choosing only one would be so undervaluing to all the brilliance I've seen. However, my tags filter for it usually include: fix-it, angst with a happy ending, court sorcerer merlin, shitting on bbc writers 101, canon era, not canon compliant, everybody lives especially king arthur you mfs.

9. The Wicked Day

Throw me from the highest tower there is because every time I remember this scene, I just want to fade into the light. The sheer level of love and understanding shimmering between those two. Sometimes I marvel at the choice of bringing Colin and Bradley together, because no two could have achieved such chemistry, platonic or not, as those two did. This whole episode of showing Arthur's grief, and Merlin's desperation to heal it, was truly unforgettable. I try not to linger on its ending, Arthur denouncing magic for the millionth of time, but other than that it was a gem served to us on a silver platter.

Also seeing Uther finally die was a plus.

Fic rec: As much as I'd love to recommend my own fic for this, but honestly, whenever I get the chance, I will always take it to scream and wail about one of my absolute favourite fics of all time, which really isn't given ANY of the goddamn credit or attention or kudos it deserves. Beauty in the Ashes of Our Lives by Fulgance. I swear to you, you will never read something as beautifully heartbreaking as this. This fic resides in my mind rent-free. Basically any work by Fulgance is amazing, but this fic— oh God, my heart cannot take it sometimes.

10. Arthur's Bane pt. 1

Fuck, that episode was a masterpiece. You know, if it was all in my hands, I would've magic revealed at this particular episode. It was just.. the perfect opportunity. King Arthur in his glory, beginning of the season, enough time for Arthur to fully understand the depth of what Merlin did for him. Also, the range Arthur was given starting from here; God it's what we deserved. I always blame the writers for being inconsistent with his characterization (s2 and all), but they beautifully crafted it in the end, and it was their perfect chance to even explore the whole extent if only they made the magic reveal earlier.

Fic rec: Our broken pieces by @aramblingjay. Okay so this fic rec isn't necessarily linked at all to the episode, but I can't, in good conscience, recommend fics and not include it. Technically context wise it fits s5, for in it you see Arthur in his grandeur as king. This shall be my only exception because it's the only fic that was able to make me cry. Truly, I never shed tears, but in this, my heart stuttered. The fact that it is so unnoticed makes my blood boil because of how much praise it deserves. I can never recommend it enough.

To conclude, BBC Merlin has a powerful hold on everyone because of the fact that they knew how to eternalise it. It is significantly unique in its interpretation of legendary figures. I think I watched nearly all adaptations of King Arthur throughout the years, but even with how great some really are, to me none compare with this sword-swishing, banter-driven, CGI-messing, emotionally-killing 2008 show.

Honorary mentions:

[Short fic recs]

[Long fic recs]

#merlin #welcome to a long ass critical appreciation for my favourite show in the world #with fic recs because writers deserve longlasting fame too #arthur pendragon #bbc merlin #merlin bbc #ao3 #merthur #merlin x arthur #king arthur #merlin fic #did I say that I love these fics so much already?#merlin fic writers are a godsend #regulusrules metas #regulusrules recs

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star-rie · 3 months

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Merlin questions to do when you’re bored

1. How did you find out about merlin?

2. Do you have a ship? If so, when did you start shipping them?

3. What’s your favorite episode/two-parter?

4. What’s your favorite scene?

5. What’s your favorite quote/interaction? (ex | merlin: “how long have you been training to be a prat, my lord?” | arthur: “i love poetry” merlin: 😀)

6. How do you feel about the ending? 😉

7. What’s your favorite headcanon in merlin?

8. Do you have a favorite merlin fic? Please share 😍

9. What is your personal head-canon after s5? (Ex: arthur dies and merlin waits for 1500 years | the roundtable lives | merlin becomes court-sorcerer)

10. What’s your favorite character?

That’s all!! Tell me if you want more!! Answer in the reblogs!! Or comment!! Or anywhere!!

#bbc merlin #merlin bbc #merlin #merlin questions #merlin question #questions #question #arthur pendragon #morgana pendragon #guinevere #gaius #uther pendragon #lancelot #gwaine #percival #mordred #sir leon

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sneakyboymerlin · 1 day

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Any thoughts on s5 merwaine strained relationship (Merlin not wanting to save him in ep1/2,not hugging him in ep4, Gwaine not speaking up for Merlin when Gwen accused him of Arthur’s murder, Eira (ep12).

First off, I’m going to start with the obvious: season 5 eps 1 & 2 are painfully out of character, poorly written imposter episodes. The sole purpose of Merlin’s hesitance to ride out is to uplift Arthur’s character, making him appear more heroic and matured than Merlin, and by comparison to where we saw him in s4, without having to actually develop his character. It’s cheap, lazy writing, to put it bluntly.

But, if it helps… Merlin wasn’t just ~abandoning~ Gwaine. He thought Gwaine was dead and that Arthur was going on a fool’s errand to join him in an early grave. Regardless of the fact that Gwaine was very much still kickin’, this is the place that Merlin was coming from. If the writers really needed to take the route they did, they should have given us a scene of Merlin mourning Gwaine to make this clearer, but since the writers only care about Arthur, they only show us this information through Merlin’s concern for Arthur. But it is present in the text.

In 5x04, we can see that Merlin is frantic to get to Arthur because Arthur is walking into a trap. It’s a time-sensitive mission. The purpose of writing a scene where Merlin shoves off Gwaine’s hug is simply to express this urgency. It comes across worse because, again, the writers do not find it important to show Merlin and Gwaine after they save the battle. They only care about how these events fuel Arthur’s reputation (not to be mistaken with development… he does not truly develop).

The belief that Gwaine simply let Merlin be arrested in 5x07 is a fanon pet peeve of mine. We don’t actually see any of the knights’ reactions in the immediate aftermath— only that Merlin did indeed get thrown in the dungeons. Later, we see that Leon believes the accusation and fully supports Gwen. We also see Gwaine pursuing what he believes to be an intruder in the citadel and, later, releasing Merlin from the dungeons himself with a massive smile on his face. We can pretty easily infer from this that 1) Gwaine did not believe that Merlin did it; 2) He may have been attempting to find the real culprit; and 3) He was outnumbered by the knights who did believe Gwen/follow her orders (such as Leon). After all, if Gwaine had arrested Merlin or believed the accusation for a second, he would have shown guilt upon releasing him from the dungeons. And why have Gwaine specifically be the only knight to release Merlin otherwise?

Gwaine sleeping with Eira is not evidence of a strained friendship between Merlin and Gwaine. Rather, it ends up proving where Gwaine’s loyalties truly lay— and it showcases Merlin’s friendship with Gwaine, which has indeed been ignored in s5. The reason for this is because it is their last episode together, and the writers are aware that fans care enough about their friendship that it needed the attention promised from Gwaine’s intro ep.

Gwaine rescues a cute girl (and gets rescued in return) and takes a special interest in her because he’s attracted to her. Merlin does Gwaine a personal favor by tending to her wounds. Later, Merlin asks Gwaine to escort him into the Valley of the Fallen Kings and does not provide an explanation for why, because he trusts Gwaine to protect him. Gwaine acquiesces, leaving Eira behind even though she asks him to stay. Gwaine makes it clear to Merlin that he’s doing this for Merlin because he wants to and does not expect anything in return— in fact, he feels he’s gotten more than enough in return. Merlin trusts Gwaine enough to admit he’s lying to him, even if he won’t tell Gwaine what about. And Gwaine trusts Merlin enough to leave him to it, then leaves Merlin with his sword since he won’t accept Gwaine’s protection any further.

Offscreen, Gaius reveals to Gwaine that Merlin believes Eira to be the traitor in the court, and provides Merlin’s evidence. Gwaine takes Merlin’s word for it and sets Eira up, sending her to her execution. So, really, the whole Eira situation is functionally meant to boost our view of their selfless friendship… but a bit too late, since the writers have neglected them quite literally all season long. It’s very much a last minute “shit we forgot to care” project.

When they do give Merlin and Gwaine’s dynamic attention, though, the writers make sure to present how close they are, but they ignore this for the most part to focus on Arthur. Essentially, it’s not that Merlin doesn’t still care about Gwaine… it’s that the writers don’t. The writers literally do not care about anyone besides Arthur— not even Merlin, the titular character. Not only did they neglect to give Merlin any character consistency in s5, but they did so (and framed events in a specific way) to ensure that Arthur’s reputation would remain unstained, as he is a personified fantasy of avoiding accountability and being coddled for one’s own wrongdoings.

Fans, of course, buy into this and argue that Arthur can do no wrong because he’s “too ignorant” to know any better, instead placing blame on characters like Morgana for “proving the stereotypes right” or onto Gwen and Merlin for “coddling” him. Thus, these fans coddle Arthur, despite claiming the opposite.

The truth is that Arthur is responsible for his own actions and beliefs. Those actions and beliefs are the mass slaughter of innocent people simply because they have magic. He’s already seen more than enough evidence that magical peoples are not inherently evil or harmful, and applied this same logic to other areas of life (such as nobles vs. commoners), and found that no one is inherently superior or inferior for their birth circumstances. It is only in the topics of magic (and gender…) that Arthur believes this. But even after the Dolma saves Gwen, he still refuses to lift the ban… so, yeah, all in all you can blame the lack of Merlin and Gwaine content in s5 on the writers not wanting Arthur to either develop or be held accountable for his actions. Instead, they wanted to present a character to be lauded above all others no matter what he does. This tells you a lot about the morals of the people writing the story… and maybe some of the things they don’t want to be held responsible for. After all, 35% of all BBCM episodes come with a message of, “If you try to stop this oppressive bigot, you’re just as bad as he is!”

TL;DR: they shoved Merlin and Gwaine aside to make more room for monarchy propaganda.

#show critical #arthur critical #fandom critical #merlin emrys #sir gwaine #merlin and gwaine #merwaine #mergwaine #bbc merlin #merlin defense #merlin meta #my meta #asks

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frontymython · 6 months

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Being a merlin fan since you were 5 is wild... Like how do you explain that you've been watching the same show for 15 years. I blame it on them ruining Christmas with the S5 ending when I was 10 LIKE I WAS TEN YEARS OLD AND YOU DID THAT. I remember the S5 trailers pre it coming out with the magic reveal teased. I was chewing at my sofa I swear, ten years old eating a sofa. How dare. Like literally I remember my nan being mad at the ending and us all watching Atlantis only to get blue ballsed again. Anyway rant over, I am very normal about this show 🕴️

#merlin bbc #merlin #I'll never heal #i think this show prevented my prefrontal cortrd from developing #it didn't even occur to me they could be gay till i was like 15 and it just reignited the fire #chewing at the bars of my enclosure

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buttercupyellow · 21 days

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BBC Merlin the Knights ages

So I've done Merlin, Arthur, Morgana and Gwen's ages and birthdays, so now its the knights turn.

basically we have nothing to go on so this is all completely made up but lets try and apply some logic here.

Lancelot = Santiago Cabrera = 30 at time of S1 Release (appears)

Leon = Rupert Young = 30 at time of S1 Release (does not appear)

Gwaine = Eoin Macken = 25 at time of S1 Release (does not appear)

Elyan = Tomiwa Edun = 24 at time of S1 Release (does not appear)

Percival = Tom Hopper = 23 at time of S1 Release (does not appear)

Lancelot

I don't think Lancelot is 30, considering Gwen's his love interest and I've put her closer to 18. He's also very idealistic, naive and inexperienced.

I think he's younger than Arthur, based on how they interact esp in 1x05. So I'd put him between 18 - 21, maybe 20 to give him a bit of an older brother vibe (if you like) with the 16 yro Merlin without it being weird with Gwen.

Leon

Leon being 30 also feels a tad too old, but not the extreme that Lancelot is. Leon comes across as older, wiser and more experienced. He advises Arthur on his knights and his strategies, which I feel only an experienced knight would be able to do.

Leon seems more likely to be 24 - 25. Older than Arthur by 5 - 6 years, so he can be knighted earlier than Arthur and have that seniority.

Gwaine

25 feels just a mite too old for 20 yro arthur and 16 yro Merlin. esp. since he's closer to Merlin. It's also a little strange for a 27yro to hit on a 21 yro unless we are going for historical accuracy, which we're not.

I think he's younger than Leon at least, maybe older than Lancelot. He's more experienced than Arthur, but with a worse impulse control, so he kind of levels out as a similar age to Arthur. Maybe 20 - 22. Roughly Morgana's age.

Elyan

Elyan has Gwen as a reference. He says she basically raised him but this might simply refer to her becoming the woman of the house in the absence of their mother. This is done in multiple other stories like A:tLA with Sokka and Katara, so it's not too out of the box.

Angel Coulby is older than Tomiwa Edun (about 4 years) but considering Gwen's age in the show (to match her crush on the younger Merlin) it's not unrealistic for him to be older. but a 6 year age gap with Gwen feels a bit big, especially when looking at his actions in 4x10 with Gwaine.

Again, I think he's roughly Arthur's and Morgana's age, at around 21 - 22. Making him about 3 - 4 years older than Gwen.

Percival

Percival really does read as fairly young. He's hesitant and not great at communicating or speaking up. He also has very little backstory or development so he's free space.

I think he's closer to Merlin in age. Maybe 16 - 17 as of S1. Making him about 20 - 21 when we first meet him in S3.

Bonus Mordred

for Mordred I basically follow Asa Butterfield's age, and ignor Alexander Vlahos' age.

Alexander Vlahos = 20 as of S1/24 as of S5

Asa Butterfield = 11 as of S1

There's bout 9 years between S1 and S5, so that would make Mordred 20 when he becomes a knight.

So as of beginning of S1: Lancelot, 20. Leon, 25. Gwaine, 21. Elyan, 21. Percival, 17. Mordred, 11.

As of beginning of S5: Lancelot, 29. Leon, 34. Gwaine, 30. Elyan, 30. Percival, 26. Mordred, 20.

#bbc merlin #lancelot #sir leon #gwaine #elyan #percival #mordred

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forecast0ctopus · 1 year

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hewwo anj!!!! I was reading your post on how you break down arthur's likeness and how you study/what you noticed for him body language wise, how his facial features are, etc. and if that's possible, would you ever do the same for merlin? Regardless, thank you for ur merlin art ily ❤️🫶

sorry i took forever to get to this fyscka!! i got real busy lmao. anyways thoughts abt it under the cut

once again going to try not to sound weirdly obsessive abt this stuff because it sounds more insane when i put all the details into words when they just like. exist as nebulous thoughts in my brain. idk anyways

more tracing because tracing is good for figuring things out.. also fun. when you trace things a bunch for practice you pick up on the repetition like. how someone's face looks with different movement and the overlap between them. like how similar a happy expression can be to an aggressive expression and how similar an aggressive expression can be to a terrified one. if that makes sense

it is interesting too with merlin because he varies a lot over the seasons? not just with being yknow. older. like hes thinner in s2-4 than s1+5, and we all know how much his haircut varies. i dunno i just think facially he varies a lot more than arthur

sorry again for crunchy images heres a few specifics i tend to notice

when hes fighting or putting in a lot of physical strength/effort his mouth pulls up high and his nose scrunches which causes a crease from the corners of his nose. same crease as you would see when he smiles, but since the nose is scrunched the part of the crease next to the nose is more prominent. usually when i see people scrunch their nose like that it wrinkles on top of the bridge but his seems to wrinkle more at the sides. also eyebrow furrow very important

hes got a very strong chin its rather large and squared off. his eyes and the folds beneath his eyes crinkle a lot when he smiles. the smile lines appear with a point to them. also hes got a very prominent adams apple

low eyebrows, widest at their arch which is more lateral. ill talk more abt his teeth in a minute but hes got the american girl doll teeth when his lips are parted lmao

his eyes are pretty deep set, so when you see him in profile theres a good bit of distance between the bridge of his nose and his eye. when his hair is longer the hair around his ears tends to curl towards his face. same w the hair on his neck. his nose has a pretty subtle bump to the bridge and then the tip turns up a bit, but overall Not an upturned nose

his ears stick out we know this..... you can see the contrast of the hollow of his cheeks vs his mouth muscle sometimes (usually more in s2+3). his nose is in a pretty neutral position here

as opposed to this one where his nose broadens a little with his smile. smile lines again pretty triangular.

faces are soft and when one feature moves usually the others slightly move/change with it. some other things are teeth which i meant to talk abt in the arthur post too, but yeah. merlin's got pretty prominent front teeth, and arthur's got his one crooked canine. hair also is (at least to me) pretty important... his hair is always cropped above the eyebrows and imo he's less recognizable as merlin if its not. its not especially fluffy or curly either. not to say he cant be drawn with different haircuts haha, sometimes it just makes him a little harder to recognize

again body shape + language is just as important is not more so, bc we're drawing a character not an actor!! theres a few things i think about w merlin

- hes pretty thin with the exception of s5, but always pretty lanky lookin - just generally pretty angular? idk - he is somewhat broad but the slouching and not being shredded (usually) tend to negate that a little - he crouches a lot or pulls his legs up when he sits (hes so real for that) - when hes not using his hands they tend to just be at his sides, when he's standing he'll put them behind his back sometimes, when talking he'll gesture with them usually around his head or hip/waist level - he slouches more than arthur, his shoulders are usually somewhat forward - when he's confused or teasing often he'll push his head forward - tilts his head a lot when hes teasing or happy or confused - draws his shoulders up to his ears when he's uncomfortable, confused, or frightened - whereas arthur moves very purposefully, merlin moves in a way that just looks like he has a lot less spatial awareness idk a better way to describe it lmao. like u know hes clumsy even when he's not actively being clumsy

honestly i dont tend to put too much detail in faces because i dont draw in a very realistic style so i tend to lean more into shapes and body language to make characters recognizable, but knowing how the face works still plays into it a lot?

anyways i hope this makes at least a little sense lmao

#ask #feuxx #if u saw the other post no u didnt #i couldnt edit things properly on my laptop it was getting weird #how i draw

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quotidian-oblivion · 23 days

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Reasons I Believe Gaius is the Real Emrys

In S3 EP9, Gaius talks about how Alice had given him a book for his fiftieth birthday. Gaius thought that the book had been given to him when he was made Court Physician. Since according to the MerlinWiki, it states that Gaius and Alice were engaged for 20 years just after he became court physician, we can assume that Gaius was around 50 when he became a court physician. And since they were engaged for 20 years: 50+20=70. He was 70 years old when the Purge happened.

The Purge lasted 20 years when Merlin finally arrived to Camelot as evidenced when Uther holds a feast in the first episode declaring that the Purge has successfully driven out sorcerers for 20 years. So 70+20=90 years old.

THIS MAN WAS NINTEY FUCKING YEARS OLD WHEN MERLIN ARRIVED IN CAMELOT.

AND THEN WE ADD THE ADDITIONAL YEARS:

Season 1 - 1 year Season 2 - 1 year Season 3 - 1 year gap before the happenings bc Morgana was missing + 1 year Season 4 - 1 year as Arthur as regent with the Knights of the Round Table + 1 year Season 5 - 3 years time jump as Arthur declares in the first episode that Camelot has had 3 years of peace + 1 year altogether If we add it all up then it's 11 years altogether. 90+11= 101

IN CONCLUSION:

GAIUS WAS ONE HUNDRED AND ONE FUCKING YEARS OLD BY THE END OF THE SHOW

BUT WHAT REALLY MADE ME OBSTINATELY GRIP THE HEADCANON THAT GAIUS IS THE REAL EMRYS "THE IMMORTAL ONE" IS THIS:

THIS IS GAIUS FALLING ON THE BED IN S1 EP1 WHEN MERLIN SAVES HIM FROM THE FALL DO YOU SEE? DO YOU SEE HOW FUCKING HARD HE FELL?? THE BED NEARLY FUCKING BROKE THAT'S HOW HARD EVEN WITH MERLIN'S MAGIC. THIS MAN IS NINETY, HE CANNOT HAVE FUCKING SURVIVED THAT

THIS IS HIM BEING THROWN BACK BY EDWIN'S MAGIC AND HITTING THE FUCKING PILLAR IN S1 EP6. REMEMBER, THIS MAN IS STILL 90 FUCKING DAMN YEARS OLD AND HE HAS JUST BEEN PUSHED BY MAGIC AND HIT A FUCKING PILLAR HIS BACK SHOULD BE FUCKING BROKEN. THIS MAN SHOULD BE DEAD.

THIS MAN NEARLY FUCKING DIED IN S1 EP13. HE IS NINETY FUCKING YEARS OLD AND HE NEARLY DIED. HE SHOULD BE RENDERED WEAK FOR-FUCKING-EVER BUT YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS INSTEAD?

HE GETS TORTURED INSTEAD THATS WHAT FUCKING HAPPENS IN S2 EP7.

AND THEN HE DRINKS A FUCKTON OF ALCOHOL IN THE TAVERN IN S3 EP3. YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO NINETY-THREE YEAR OLDS WHEN THEY DRINK ALCOHOL?

[x]

THEY FUCKING DIE. THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS. AND YET, HE LIVES COMFORTABLY UNTIL A 101.

THEN YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IN S4 EP7 WHEN HE'S 94-95? DO YOU? DO YOU??????

HE GETS KNOCKED OUT

FLUNG LIKE A SACK OF POTATOES ON A CART (14:55)

TORTURED PHYSICALLY AND MOSTLY PSYCHOLOGICALLY

AND THEN CARRIED LIKE A SACK OF POTATOES AGAIN AND THAT TOO ON FUCKING HORSEBACK LIKE THAT AT A GALLOPING SPEED WHERE EVEN A HEALTHY PERSON WILL HALF-DIE LET ALONE A NINETY-FIVE YEAR OLD MAN.

AND THATS NOT ALL

HE THEN GETS STARVED AND DEHYDRATED WITHIN AN INCH OF HIS LIFE IN S4 EP13

AND HE'S STILL UP AND KICKING

EVEN WHEN HE GETS KNOCKED OUT WITH A FUCKING ROCK IN S5 EP12

IN FUCKING CONCLUSION:

GAIUS IS THE REAL FUCKING EMRYS BECAUSE BY THIS POINT IN THE SHOW HE IS A HUNDRED AND FUCKING ONE AND HE CAN STILL WITHSTAND TORTURE, STARVATION, BEING TOSSED AROUND LIKE A SACK OF POTATOES, KNOCKED OUT MULTIPLE TIMES, AND NOT TO MENTION- WORKING IN A HIGH-STRESS ENVIRONMENT EVERY SINGLE DAY OF HIS LIFE- HE IS STILL

FUCKING

ALIVE.

FUCK.

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crowned-clown-rising · 2 years

Text

Okay some thoughts on s5 of Merlin because I finished this show today and I'm- not ready to let go.

• I'm obsessed with how they show the characters learning and aquiring new skills through the show. Specially Merlin with his magic.

• The way nothing escapes Merlin now? he figures everything out in a heartbeat. He senses and knows everything touched by magic.

• Merlin being the ultimate mother hen with Mordred is so funny. The boy must have chills any time and turn around to find Merlin giving him the death stare.

• Fucking Mordred. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. What a dumb reason. FUCK.

• The "There is no place for magic in Camelot" made me literally bleed. Colin delivered that scene SO WELL. Painful. Just... pain.

• GWAINE I LOVE YOU SO FUCKING MUCH OH MY GOD THE BEST BESTIE THANK YOU

• Merlin without powers is so scared and please don't do that to him please that's enough slices.

• 5 bucks Gwaine knows about Merlin. Like Gwen. I mean I'm pretty sure the only ones who had no clue were Arthur and Leon.

• Can the dragon please just answer the questions instead of flying away PLEASE.

Merlin asking something to Kilgharrah and having him simply fly away has the same energy as Arthur asking Merlin if he really is wise or just a fool and Merlin just walking away dramatically as a response. Except Merlin tripped with a bucket.

• No but really, Merlin doesn't smile more than like... 5 times in season 5, he is SO worn out and tense and sad it's really heartbreaking to watch.

• Almost as heartbreaking as Arthur saying he was wrong to think Merlin was brave or pushing him away when he found out about his magic.

• He GRABBED THE BACK OF HIS HEAD SOFTLY AS HE CLOSED HIS EYES FOR THE LAST TIME.

• So Arthur doesn't know about the dragonlord part then, does he?

• IN THE SPAN OF A DAY HE WENT FROM "I WANT HIM GONE" TO "I DON'T WANT YOU TO CHANGE I WANT YOU TO ALWAYS BE YOU" AND I'M FUCKING SOBBING

#bbc merlin #merlin #pendragon #uther pendragon #arthur pendragon #morgana #arthur #morgana pendragon #merthur #I couldn't be bothered to check the dragon's name #I'm sure I was gonna write it wrong

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fluffypotatey · 2 years

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Random but how old do you think the knights, Gwen, and Merlin are?

*pulls down that giant rolled up projection screen they use in classrooms* okay sO

from what i remember, BBC Merlin canon timeline is 10 years (give or take) with some timeskips here and there just to speed up the process for a 5 season show.

now, here is a list of my assumptions of the characters' ages based on what hints canon provides us as each season begins

s1 character ages:

arthur - 21

merlin - 19

gwen - 20

morgana - 19

the knights? come back to me in 5 business days

s2 (i'm assuming there's a year timeskip here but y'all can correct me if i'm wrong)

arthur - 23

merlin - 21

gwen - 22

morgana - 21

s3 (year timeskip, meaning we miss 1 year of stuff)

arthur - 25

merlin - 23

gwen - 24

morgana - 23

s4 (year after finale; missing a year of arthur being a regent)

arthur - 27

merlin - 25

gwen - 26

morgana - 25

s5 (timeskip of 2 years according to the wiki)

arthur - 29

merlin - 27

gwen - 28

morgana - 27

s5 finale

arthur - 30

merlin - 28

gwen - 29

morgana - 28

more analysis under the cut because goddamn did i go off

edit: ok so first time it didn't cut off so hopefully i fixed it

s1 ep9 the show celebrates Arthur coming of age and being officiated as the crown prince of camelot. ergo, it's his birthday and he's turning 20/21 and it's been about 20 years since the Purge Uther started after the death of his wife wherein he directed all his anger and blame to the magic community because the man can't take failure well

however, short research shows that a typical age chosen for coming of age falls around 15, 18, and 21. doing process of elimination, it can't be 15 or 18 because arthur would have to be born after the Purge began, and Uther started all of this when Ygraine died, making arthur's birth very strange if he was born after her death lol.

so, we can conclude that arthur is 21 in s1 because he turns 21 on his birthday.

Merlin, following what the canon storyline gives us, is born a year or so after Arthur's birth and Ygraine's death. given Balinor's account on how he fled camelot, he was tricked by Uther into leading many dragonlords and dragons to their death which possibly happened a couple months (at most 6 imo) since Ygraine's death. then he fled and spent some time in ealdor, meeting Hunith and they were probably together for a year? until he left again some time before she gave birth to Merlin.

so, Merlin falls into the 18/19 age range by s1

Gwen I feel could be the same age as Merlin or she's just a year older. I know she's older than Elyan but by how much i don't remember the show saying. so it's possible Gwen started off as 19/20 in s1

given these estimations, we will now try and fit them into the story's timeline and see if we're able to find a somewhat accurate assumption on where the characters' ages fall by s5.

in my mind by "Moment of Truth" (s1 ep10) it's been a year (or close to, like 10 months) since Merlin's been serving Arthur. and by the end of s1 it most definitely has been at least a year since Merlin came to camelot.

by s3 there's been a time jump: Morgana has been "kidnapped" by Morgause and Uther's had his men searching for his ward for a year at most. doing the math, that means Arthur is 24, Merlin is 23/22, and Gwen is 23/24. in s3 we do celebrate Morgana's birthday (s3 ep5) but it's never clear how old she is.

i, at first, assumed she was older than Arthur simply because she was older in the legends. of course, the legends are used more as an outline than a set script so they have her younger than Arthur. also, in the show Morgana is the illegitimate child of Uther, so, to me, it'd be strange for Uther to cheat on his wife (who he mourns in the show) rather than him just having and affair with Morgana's mother, Viviane, after Ygraine's death.

using that string of logic, Morgana probably was born a year or so after Arthur, making her closest in age to Merlin which....plot-wise is interesting now that i think about. what if they were born on the same day, same time, cementing the idea that they are one in the same yet foils of the other, each other's doom.

anyway,

i don't think i'm going to touch the knights' ages simply because that will make this post so much longer than it needs to be. i might do a separate one when i have time or when i'm ignoring my midterms lol.

but yeah, long story short: BBC Merlin is very good at being vague with time and ages but not in a way that super confusing and takes away from the plot. also it's fun to piece together the timeline of this world with the hints provided.

tldr: story takes 10 years and began when our lovely characters were in their late teens/early twenties and ended with them in their late twenties to early 30s

#fortunately for you: i have a thing for timelines #unfortunately for you: i have thing for timelines #and i also had way too much to say about this #longpost #really long post #you can just read the list tbh because that's the actual answer to your question i just had a lot of thoughts #capitalizing characters' names in the analysis just so they can be easier to find my beloved #bbc merlin #merlin meta #timeline #bbc merlin timeline analysis #arthur pendragon #merlin emrys #gwen #morgana #headcanons #i mean this is my interpretation of what their ages are so it can be considered a headcanon

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queerofthedagger · 8 months

Text

20 Questions for Fic Writers!

Thanks so much for the tag! <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

132 which. insane.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

1,520,700 which is even more insane. anyway

3. What fandoms do you write for?

BBC Merlin, Stranger Things, The Sandman, The Raven Cycle, and Lord of the Rings, and coming soon probably also Black Sails, let's be real

4. Top 5 fics by kudos?

Old Haunts (Are For Forgotten Ghosts), A Study in Choices and Second Chances, I Wouldn't Leave You If You Let Me, Still I Surface in Morning Light, and Fate Rests Heavily On Our Shoulders. I'm never not baffled by the fact that my two most popular fics not only are for HP, but are for Regulus/Harry. Like. That tag has maybe 100 fics???

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes!! Sometimes it takes me a while but I'll tend to get around to them eventually <3

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I think that's a toss-up between my my s5 Morgwen AU With Eyes Wide Open, and the one where I made the Diamond of the Day worse, watch all my bridges burn

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

This is such a difficult question because Angst with a Happy Ending is kind of my brand. That said, esp where Merlin is concerned, one thing I think about a lot is the inevitability of tragedy and how, no matter how many fix-its I write, personally I believe that most of them, if I didn't end them before the fact, would eventually end in some kind of tragic way, actually. Like. Very rarely is Merlin not immortal, or the world not against them, or or or. So in that vein I guess one of the happiest ones would be We Can Always Run because it's such an utter rejection of destiny, an utter refusal to even pretend they're playing the game.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Very rarely, thankfully.

9. Do you write smut?

Occasionally, yeah! It's a constant process of pushing at my comfort zone tbh, but I do enjoy doing it (ha), so!!

10. Do you write crossovers?

Nope, it's just not really my thing, neither for writing nor reading. Obviously never say never but yk.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Unfortunately (don't do this).

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Such a cool feeling, I love the thought of them existing in other languages in the world <3

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

Nope; there have been and are a few plans for that floating around though 👀

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

This is so hard but in the end it gotta be merthur, like, because I love them to pieces but also just for the sheer amount of words I've written for them. Not sure if/how that would ever get topped, especially considering it's like, on-going.

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

There's a bunch of HP WIPs I would have loved to finish, but I've fallen so utterly out of love with the fandom I don't really think it's ever going to happen at this point tbh.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Worldbuilding, plots/characterization, and prose; I think I'm solid in those and they come easily to me/bring me the most joy when writing. Editing, in a way, because I'm an obsessive bitch with a system about it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Descriptions; I'm just not a very visual writer, which is not too huge of an issue when writing familiar characters and settings in fic, but becomes immediately and glaringly obvious whenever I 1. introduce non-canon stuff, or 2. have a go at OG. Also planning/outlining; I can make a bunch of notes but if I write an outline, I will not write the fic. I don't think it's necessarily a weakness, but it can make a bunch of additional work when it comes to the plottier stuff.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

Not the biggest fan tbh, which I know is probably controversial but odds that your audience will understand it are low if it's more than a bunch of words you can guess from the context? I prefer the ""dialogue," he said in Latin" approach. It's subjective though I get it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Bandom RPF at like, 12 (not telling you which band peace and love). I took a long fandom hiatus until a couple of years ago though, and under this fandom alias it'd be HP/Tomarrymort.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Still There Are Many Names In History, I think. I love a lot of stuff I've written, but that story has my entire heart in it, and the response to it has left me sobbing like. a ridiculous number of times which, like, is not something that I usually have to deal with lmao.

No Pressure-tagging: @prattery @emryses @glaftwlet @snapshotmaestro @merlinemrys @atlantablack @insane-ohwhyfandoms @hazelands @aeonthedimensionalgirl @slantedknitting and anyone else who'd like to, just say I tagged you <3

#tag games #mona's writing #i have so many of these to catch up on but this one just was so much fun i had to do it real quick

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lovable-bastard · 2 years

Text

Some ideas that anyone can use

(w/ credit, you can change whatever you want) (i also may or may not write them)

Merlin

How We Change and Not

Basically BBC's Merlin, but with the parent's. The whole plot follows the love/hate relationship of Balinor & Uther, the immediate friendship of Ygraine & Balinor, the mutual hatred between Hunith & Uther and the suprise love of Ygraine & Uther. Some quest's and adventures on the side like the original series. Angst, fluff, banter, all that good stuff.

Over the Year

On new years eve Arthur comes back, to the suprise of Merlin and Leon (Immortal Leon for the win❗). Over the course of 2023 the knights come back, in their own "very them" ways, learn about the new world and learn to live in peace.

I just want the knights to come back and live a normal peaceful life!!! Also Merthur, but it's a side-plot. Because I love some found-family and platonic love.

New Old

S5!Merlin time travels to the past and try's to make this reality better (I can and will ignore the possible danger of it and I know you will to), while S1!Merlin gets a new mentor (can I call S5!Merlin a mentor?) and S1!Arthur gets gay panic every five minutes.

Merthur, reveal done early, Arthur accepting magic on his own pace, Morgana and Mordred getting the support they need, what else could you want :D !!!

Don't have name for this one yet

Based on the ep where we find Mordred, but instead of Mordred going into hiding he finds Merlin first, who pretends to be his brother. Mordred grows up in Camelot and never turns evil (and so doesn't Morgana), Merlin and Morgana become like older siblings to him, Arthur gets jealous, because they look like a family.

Just a fix-it fic, that I need :')

Glowing Like Gold In My Dreams

Reincarnated!Arthur and Reincarnated!Merlin have dreams of their past life, but they see different parts of it. By that I mean, in life Arthur saw Merlin as a lovable idiot, so now Merlin will dream of the more light-hearted moments, while Merlin saw Arthur as strong, funny, confident and generous and now Arthur will dream of the Merlin that past Arthur never got to see, at least not that much. And they both make art of it. Arthur paints beautiful paintings of his dreams that are all about Merlin and show how amazing he is. Merlin makes music with his band (he plays the violin and piano) about the funny, confident, kind, sarcastic dumbass that he dreams of and fell for.

(sorry for the longer explanation 😅 I just really like this idea and sorry for the maybe shit explanation it's 3:51 (am) and don't worry they do meet)

A Bouquet of Hydrangea's, Yellow and Red Rose's

Arthur gets turned into his 12 year old self, meets Merlin, who showers him with endless love and attention. Needless to say Arthur is confused, but doesn't want this strange man to ever leave. Arthur starts to love Merlin as a father more then his own, he seeks out Merlins approvel more then Uthers, his love, time, affection. And Merlin gives it to him with no problem.

(this summary sucked) Basically Arthur gets turned into his 12 year old self and Merlin acts like a father to him. Arthur gets attached. Arthur learns how to trust and love freely again. Oh and Merlin doesn't mind being seen as a father figure, he's suprised at first, but gets used to it.

Harry Potter

Wtf Is a Weasley?

Just a short fic about harry having his father's eyes & mother's hair and of course being confused as a Weasley by everyone. Even the Weasley's themselves.

Harry Potter and the Fucked Up Wizarding World

Harry at the age of 5 gets safed from the Dursleys and taken in by the Wilson's.

Until the age of 17 everything was wonderful! He had loving parents, one sibling that was his age and a family dog! But one day he meets 3 people who tell Harry what he is. A wizard. Of course he doesn't believe it in the beginning, but they prove that magic is real (they cast a 1st year spell).

Now he has to somehow fix the magic world and not fuck up.

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