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tremendouscreationperson · 10 months

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So are there any fics where people just assume Arthur is batshit crazy?

Bradley who isn't called Arthur in this timeline was always a promising young lad, his parents helped him with his somewhat odd hobbies of archery and fencing and even just playing strategist games with him

He is fascinated by the Greek and Roman Gods, Ancient Egypt and Camelot

His dad takes him to book stores and he becomes somewhat of a history buff

One day (idk say he's like 22-25) he gets these odd dreams and at first it's just the odd comment "no Gwen was black not white" he has no proof, no evidence, but he knows his dreams aren't wrong

They become more vivid and eventually lead to a breakdown because he is confused about his place in this modern world

He doesn't know why but he drives to Wales, he has to, something is calling him there

Merlin had decided this time around he was going to be a doctor, he had studied when he lived in Ireland (even picking up the accent again) but had stayed too long there and people weren't believing he was 40

Moving to South Wales wasn't the worst idea because he got to visit his lake

The lake

It wasn't his

It hasn't been his for longer than he dare think

Merlin had settled his way into a medicinal career, having been a hacker of sorts to not exactly falsify information

He WAS trained, just under a different name

Merlin hated being back in Wales

He missed everyone

Even Uther

Even Morgana, even after the turn

He just felt so hopeless

Lonely

Just plodding through the new world, learning new skills to distract himself from that

He was perhaps overqualified for the entry level job but who would believe a 20 year old had 30+ years of experience?

The younger he pretended, the longer he could stay in one area

He had made a few friends but always stuck to himself, what was the point in friends these days?

Fingerprints on an abandoned rail

He trudged into work receiving a few "hello Colin"s

He was a carer

Essentially a glorified Merlin

But he'd take it for a few years before he could start mental and physical therapies

Was this a stupid idea

He had just plonked his bag into his locker and placed his lunch in the fridge before he was officially late on the ward

"Col' there's a new patient coming in today." Becky told him between scribbling notes "a fighter, from what I've been told, be careful"

"okay, any other information?"

"no, just a breakdown, probably a few months in here with some meds and he'll be gone." She looked up. "He's not actively hurting himself, but he wanders, he was found just walking into some lake. Obsessive behaviour with history too."

Merlin nodded, it wasn't unusual

He'd seen worse

The patient in question did arrive when Merlin was dealing with Mrs Davies, she had had an episode and needed sedation

He didn't like manhandling a 70 year old but she could punch when needed

He just exited her room when he heard a familiar voice

Becky was informing the new patient of the rules and that number 12 was his room

Merlin thought it only right to say hi whilst he's standing right there

She introduced him to the man, who actually had his back to them and was staring out the window

"Bradley, this is Colin."

"Hello, I'm one of the nurses in charge of your health, be careful of your neighbour in number 13. She's a handful." Queue the awkward chuckle

Merlin had spoke as his brain processed what his eyes were seeing

The man was so familiar

The shoulders

The hair

Even the posture

Curse him for standing Infront of the window because when he turned he was haloed by the golden sun

Merlin's heart stopped

"Merlin?"

The recognition in Arthur's eyes broke Merlin's heart

He was quick to stop himself from running up to the King as Becky was examining the patient's reactions

"hello." Merlin nodded to Arthur "Becky I'm just gonna ask some questions," before mouthing "he thinks I'm part of it"

She gave a look but there was always so much to do so if Colin was offering to finish Bradley's orientation so be it

Once she had left and the door was closed Merlin smiled so widely at Arthur

"you took your time, clotpole"

Tears pooled in Arthur's eyes, "I knew I wasn't crazy. Merlin where have you been?"

Merlin sat on the neatly made bed, Arthur following suit, and explained the past thousand years

He ended it with "had to wait for my King."

Arthur placed a hand in Merlin's knee, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for how I acted back then, I'm sorry that you had to hide yourself, why are you here? You're a warlock?!"

Merlin did chuckle at that. "Doesn't exactly pay the bills. I mean it helps but there's also boredom."

Arthur smiled back, the visible ease he had with Merlin vs Becky was comforting

"I'll help you survive this place, you'll be out soon."

"thank you, I don't know why but I kept having these memories, I drove from London to Wales, went to the lake and then I was being pulled out by strangers. I don't remember getting into the water."

"has anything happened like that before or since?"

"no."

"then that's fine."

"why am I back? Why did you stay?"

"Our lives were never our own. Destiny was woven through us. I don't know what we do but we are needed." Merlin hoped Arthur didn't read that as the cop out it was

"you'll stay with me? Even after this place?"

"of course."

"good."

#merthur #merlin tv #merlin #arthur pendragon #arthur x merlin #prince arthur #gwenivere #morgana #uther pendragon #sir uther #lady morgana #modern au #merlin bbc #fic #king arthur

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dragoncall · 5 months

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I was having another clear out today and can we just appreciate the magazines, the 2011 and 2013 annuals and the books

I was (am) so committed to the cause x

#SNEAK PEAK OF SERIES 3!#merlin #merthur #bbc merlin #bradley james #arthur pendragon #merlin bbc #merlin emrys #merlin x arthur #katie mcgrath #angel coulby #Gwen #gwenivere #colin morgan #totally merlin #merlin annual #merlin magazine

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morganadeservedbetter · 2 months

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Morgana: why are you following Arthur?

Merlin: because we’re dating now [like he didn't before]

Gwen: okay… what about Gwaine?

Gwaine: we’re a package deal

Merlin: buy one idiot, get one free

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chloe-skywalker · 1 year

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Magic Divide - Arthur Pendragon (Part 2)

Arthur x Fem!reader

Warnings: none

Word count: 2,554

Summary: Now in Y/n’s kingdom Arthur has some making up to do.

Authors Note: Maybe a part3 ? I’m thinking about it. Like Arthur see her do magic and getting to understand it.

Masterlist

BBC Merlin Masterlist

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

It didn’t take them more than a day and a night to reach Valmore. As soon as they reached the city Morgana quickly caught eyes on Y/n. She jumped off her horse and practically ran over to the y/h/c-ed girl, everyone else followed in Morgana’s direction.

“Y/n!” Morgana yelled out happily.

“Morgana?” Y/n questioned with a furrowed brow as she turned around to fcae where she heard her name called from. Upon seeing who she thought she heard calling her name. Y/n moved away from her knights, handing her horse's reins off to one of them, meeting Morgana halfway in a hug. “What are you doing here?”

“You said to visit anytime.” Morgana smiled at the princess.

“I know I did. I just didn’t think you would so soon. Don’t get me wrong I’m happy you're here. All of you” Y/n smirked happily to have them in her home. Her gaze went across everyone but it lingered a little longer on Arthur before she cast her eyes down.

“What happened to your arm?” Merlin asked with a worried expression after everyone had greeted eachother with smiles.

With Merlin's question, all of them turned their eyes to Y/n’s arm. Noticed the not so pretty gash on her bicep. It was obviously healing and had been stitched up nicely.

“Oh, this?” Y/n pointed to her upper right arm. She shrugged, compared to other injuries she’s had this was a cakewalk. “Happened when I was training. Hadn’t done it in so long I botched a move and well this happened.”

Everyone felt shocked at how she addressed her wound as nothing. But then Arthur spoke up. “Are you ok?”

Y/n looked up at the blonde prince again and nodded before answering. “Yeah, I’ve had worse. Especially when it comes to training.”

Arthur nodded in understanding but it didn’t stop his concern.

“Was it a sword? Or-” Leon asked wondering what made the slightly jagged cut.

“No, no. Swordfighting I wasn’t rusty at.” Y/n shook her head at the young knight. “This came from hand to hand combat. Kind of- a few moves I was rusty at which made me mess up and fall. This cut I got from a very sharp nasty rock.”

Leon nodded in understanding. Gwen stepped forward with a worried look before she asked. “You’ve had worse? That bruise on your upper back looks horrid.”

The others had to agree the bruise looked worse than the healing cut.

“Oh, if only you’ve seen how into it we can all get when it comes to hand to hand.” Y/n smiled letting out an amused laugh. Things were different here than in Camelot. “We go full out. No holding back. Lots of dislocations, torn muscles, cuts, all of it.”

“Women fight?” Gwaine raised his brow in shock and it showed on his face.

Y/n smirked at their shocked faces, so she continued to explain. “In my kingdom, women are warriors, Knights, fighters. We don’t discourage women from wanting to join in on those kinds of things. We encourage them.”

“But the princess?” Lancelot raised one brow in a teasing manner, having seen her fight before unlike most of the others.

“Haha, Lancelot.” Y/n playfully glared at him. “Yes, even the princess. I should know how to defend myself and my kingdom, and my people.”

Y/n spared a glance to Arthur, trying to read his feelings on the words she had said.

“Well, we should probably go up to the Castle.” Morgana suggested with a proud smile on her face. She truly wished she could spend some time in Valmore, enough to learn skills in combat. Maybe even something more magical.

“Yes. I bet you're all tired from the journey. Follow me and my knights. We’ll escort you.” Y/n nodded in agreement to Morgana’s words.

Y/n headed over to her horse, as she went to get up Arthur noticed a slight grimace came across her face as she mounted her horse.

“Do you need some help?” Arthur asked stepping closer to just in case her arm gave out as she pulled herself up onto the saddle.

“No, I uh. I get it.” She answered flustered to having him so close after so long of being apart. Once she was up on the horse she looked down at Arthur with a small smile on her lip. “As I said, I’ve had worse injuries than this. They’ve never stopped me before.”

With that said Y/n escorted her friends from Camelot up to the castle. Once they got their Y/n and her knights took them into the throne room where her parents were currently. After getting them arrangements to stay for as long as they want. With that everyone was shown to their rooms.

It was the next day when everyone decided to do some training in the morning. Some from Camelot had come down to watch Y/n train.

And she wasn’t kidding when she said they trained hardcore.

“Should she be fighting with her arm?” Merlin asked out to anyone that would give him an answer. He winced as he watched his friend fight.

“No.” Arthur answered leaning against the waist high wall. He to was concerned about her but she could hold her own, he knew that. Arthur was more concerned about her fighting and breaking open the freshly healed wound. “No, she shouldn't be, Merlin.”

“Well, are you just going to stare and watch her or go over and talk to her?” Morgana spoke giving Arthur a knowing look.

Arthur glanced Morgana's way before turning his attention back to Y/n. “She’s in the middle of a fight. She needs to concentrate on that.”

“Y/n wasn’t kidding when she said they don’t hold back.” Leon commented as he to watched the training.

Gwen agreed. “Yeah. They really go hard at one another.”

“She’s fighting with men.” Lancelot stated impressed.

“And winning.” Morgana stated proudly.

“She can hold her own.” Merlin nodded in agreement before asking Arthur another question. “When are you going to talk and make up.”

“When I can get her alone.” Arthur told him refraining from rolling his eyes.

“Good luck with that. She’s always surrounded by her knights.” Merlin countered with a tilt of his head.

“They're her friends.” Gwen tried to defend but Morgana cut in wanting to join in on Merlin’s pestering of Arthur.

“Their also men.” Morgana smirked. There were a few girls as well but if she wanted to get at Arthur. Mention all the other men around the girl he loves.

Merlin sucked in a breath in a teasing manner. “She seems very close to knight Jon and Knight Wardlow.”

“I get it okay?” Arthur snapped at them. He didn’t need to be told what he was seeing with his own eyes. Not that he’d admit it but he did feel jealous.

^ ^ ^

It was the next day that Arthur found a moment to get Y/n alone to talk.

“Y/n!” Arthur yelled after her down the hallway.

“Arthur.” Y/n said as she turned around to look at the prince as he came to a stop in front of her.

“Can we talk?” Arthur asked and he glanced nervously to the knights that were beside her.

Y/n stood still just watching him for a moment before giving him a ‘yes’ nod.

“You gonna be okay?” Knight Darby asked the princess with a look Arthur couldn’t decipher.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine.” Y/n nodded sending Darby a grateful nod for checking first. She was indeed close with her knights and when she came back she had told them what had happened. So they were on edge about leaving her alone with the prince of Camelot.

“If not just yell out. I won’t be far.” Knight Jon stated with narrowed eyes pinned on the young prince. Which was very intimidating to Arthur. He’d seen the man fight, he was pure violence.

“Hmmm” Wardlow hummed and nodded in agreement with his fellow knight and friend. Y/n nodded as the 3 men walked to the end of the hallway not so subtly watching.

“What is on your mind Prince Arthur?” Y/n asked shifting on her feet.

“Can we talk in private?” he sighed not feeling comfortable being watched with what he wanted to talk about.

“Of course.” Y/n gulped nodding before turning and giving her knights a wave. Told them it was okay and to stay. So her and Arthur headed into the nearest room. “What is it you would like to talk about prince Arthur?”

He sighed leaning his head to the side. “Are we really going back to using ‘Prince before my name?”

“How else should I address you?” Y/n said looking down at her hands. She didn’t know how to act around him anymore. Not really.

“As just Arthur.” Arthur said loudly before taking a breath. He wasn’t mad at her he was pissed at himself. For putting them here. “Like before.”

It saddened him to realize he made her feel like they had to go back to the beginning. He hated himself for it.

“But things aren’t like before.” she told him with a sigh. God did she wish they were like before. She really missed him but how could they be together now?” We were together before. Now we’re not so I should address you with your title.”

“Are we really that far gone? Our relationship?” Arthur asked with slightly worried eyes. He couldn’t lose her.

“You tell me.” Y/n lifted her shoulders and then her eyes to look at him. The decision was in his court, he’s the one that ruined things, to begin with.

“y/n-” Arthur went to start but Y/n knew his tone of voice so she cut him off.

“No, Arthur. I can’t go through all that heartache again. I-I just can’t.” Y/n’s voice broke as she spoke and that made Arthur's chest ache.

“I’m sorry.” he didn’t know how else to start.

Y/n shook her head. “Don’t apologize when you don’t mean it.”

Arthur squinted in confusion. “What makes you think I don’t mean it?”

“Because you despise magic! An I have magic so therefore you despise me!” Y/n yelled out before taking a deep breath looking at Arthur with unshed tears in her eyes. The love of her life hated her because of something she frankly enjoyed about herself. “You hate me because of something that is a part of me.”

Arthur stepped forward shaking his head quickly at her words. “I don’t hate you.”

“If you hate a part of me then you hate me.” He couldn’t hate her magic and not hate her. And she couldn’t be with someone who hated her. “That’s how that works Arthur.”

Arthur raised his hands to cup her cheeks, using his thumbs to wipe away tears she didn’t notice were falling down her cheeks. “I could never hate or despise you Y/n.”

“The things you said to me when you found out and the way you looked at me and acted towards me all say otherwise, Arthur.” Y/n looked into his eyes, she could see the regret in his eyes.

“I felt betrayed and I was angry.I said things that weren’t true and that I didn’t mean.” Arthur explained but it didn’t make him feel any better and he didn’t expect to fix things. But she deserved to know. “It's no excuse for what I did. There’s nothing that could excuse my behavior from before. But I want to repair what we had. I want to make it up to you. If that's even a possibility.”

Y/n shook her head, it was a hard decision to make. And she didn’t know if she could, no matter how bad she wanted Arthur back. “I don’t know Arthur.”

Arthur sighed dreading asking this next question. “Are you afraid of me?”

“What?” Y/n looked at him in shock.

“Are you afraid of me? Were you afraid to tell me because you thought I would have had you killed?” He asked with a gulp afraid himself of the answer she’d give. He wouldn’t blame her though. With how Uther felt about magic and him raising Arthur to be the same. . .

“As much as I wish I could say I wasn’t. . . Besides hiding my magic I have never lied to you. I don’t plan on doing it now.” She told him before letting out a deep breath. “Yes, I was afraid that you might tell your father and we both know how I would have been ‘taken care of’.”

“y/n” Arthur's gaze dropped feeling even more disappointed in himself.

“It's not that I didn’t want to tell you, Arthur. It’s just-” Y/n hated that she felt this was but it was true. “I saw how your father flt about sorcery, and then how you felt about it. . . I was scared.”

Arthur nodded solemnly. “You had every right to be.”

“I’m sorry.” she said looking away from him. She felt guilty, even though she had no reason to be.

“Don’t be. You have nothing to be sorry for.” He shook his head, dismissing her apology she had nothing to apologize for it was all him. “I’m sorry. For how I reacted and treated you. It was wrong of me.”

“Its ok-”

Arthur immediately stopped her. He didn’t want her to forgive him that easily or pretend it was nothing. He treated her horribly, that wasn’t okay. “No, its not. An I know I hurt you.”

Y/n but her lip as they starred at eachother for a moment. “You could’ve just given me a chance. Magic a chance.”

“I hate myself for hurting you. I’ll never forgive myself for all that I put you through.” Arthur agreed with her, he could’ve given her a chance. Prove and show him she didn’t use magic for evil. “But I do want to make it up to you.”

“How?” She asked with a tilted head. If his views didn’t change how could he make it up to her?

“Well, against my views I was taught growing up. I want you to show me your magic.” Arthur gave her a small smile. It didn’t excuse what he did and said but maybe if he could understand her magic and that part of her then they could get back together.

“Are you sure?” Y/n asked, she knew how he felt if this was uncomfortable for him then maybe things should just be done. She didn’t want to force him to like all of her. If they didn’t work then they would have to accept it.

“More sure than I am about a lot of things.” Arthur said shifting closer to his princess. “But I’m even more sure that I want us to get back together.”

Y/n took a deep breath. “Arthur- we can’t just go back to what and how we were.”

“I know that. It’s going to take time for me to gain your trust back. I’m determined to do so.” Arthur looked into her eyes with determination and passion. He was going to gain his princess's trust back. No matter what.

Tag list:

@gruffle1 @mininjageek @padawancat97 @evvy96

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specialinterestsgalore · 1 month

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Magic and Homosexuality in Merlin

As with pretty much any essay I post on here, this was mostly a minimally edited stream of consciousness. Because the show title is the same name as the main character, I tried to italicize when referring to the show and leave the text normal when referring to Merlin the character.

Merlin aired on the BBC from September 2008 through December 2012. Merlin is a retelling of the story of King Arthur, naturally focusing on Merlin, though it is certainly not in line with the typical legends of King Arthur and Merlin. In the traditional tellings, Merlin is a powerful sorcerer with almost complete knowledge of the past, present, and future (sometimes said to experience time backward), he is often the son of a demon or the devil himself, and is an ally or even court magician during the reign of Uther, Arthur’s father. In this depiction, Merlin is a young man, the same age as Arthur, born with a natural affinity for magic in a kingdom that has outlawed its use. He is sent to live with his uncle, the court physician, and becomes Prince Arthur’s servant. The concept of being forced to live with those who believe that a natural and unchangeable aspect of oneself is reprehensible or in a community that has effectively or literally outlawed this aspect is likely familiar to many members of the LGBT community. Both of the main magical characters, Merlin and Morgana, are forced to live among those who hate them for a fundamental aspect of themselves and often watch those they love insult, abuse, and even kill others like them. For LGBT people in our world and those with magic in Merlin the negative consequences of ‘coming out’ can range from social exclusion, loss of support from friends and family, homelessness, arrest, and even death.

Merlin is thrilled to meet his uncle Gaius and learn that while he chose to stop practicing magic to remain working in the palace, Gaius had much magical experience and knowledge. Merlin is lucky enough to find his own small community in Gaius and Kilgharrah, the Great Dragon, who help guide him. His mother, Hunith, is rarely seen but she has known about Merlin’s magic for his entire life and has always supported him. Though he has chances to leave the palace and live amongst other magic users, Merlin chooses to stay due to the relationships he forged. His experiences are very reminiscent of my own growing up. I often compartmentalized my relationships with friends and family from what I knew their opinions on same-sex attraction were. One of my closest friends in high school had a ‘Take Back the Rainbow’ keychain, a movement for removing the rainbow’s association with the LGBT community, and although seeing it was an upsetting reminder that no matter how close we were I would never be able to share moments like my wedding with him we remained friends until we moved for university. Similarly, it is impossible for Merlin to share a key part of himself with any of his friends and family but he chooses to stay and deepen these relationships.

The other main magical character in Merlin is Morgana. In this depiction, Morgana is the orphaned child of one of King Uther’s friends and allies and has been raised as Uther’s ward for most of her life. We later learn that Morgana is Uther’s biological child from an affair with her mother. Morgana was also born with magic but it presented itself much later than Merlin’s and initially, it is extremely distressing and confusing to her. If Merlin represents those who realize they are same-sex attracted at an early age and are given the support needed to become comfortable with themselves, Morgana represents those who only begin to realize their attraction in adolescence and have no support or resources to help them fully understand what is happening within them. Morgana begins to have prophetic dreams and nightmares and Gaius, being the court physician and having extensive magical knowledge, is aware that she is displaying magical abilities but neglects to use this knowledge to comfort or guide her. Though he has good intentions, Uther executes any magic users found in Camelot and would likely have little sympathy for his daughter. Gaius believes that ensuring that even Morgana does not understand her abilities will protect her from his wrath. While it likely does protect Morgana for a time, it also leads to her feeling that she has no support within the palace and feeling intense anger at those she used to consider family. An African proverb says “The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth” and Morgana is a textbook example of this. Though Gaius and Merlin attempt to support Morgana, they do so without directly letting her know how much they understand about what she is going through; Morgana can not feel their support and instead seeks out warmth from Camelot’s enemies. Her closest ally is her half-sister Morgose, a high priestess of the Old Religion, who has a (understandably) strong vendetta against Camelot and King Uther. This leads to Morgana being manipulated in some ways, though the love between the sisters is still obvious. In my opinion, this echoes how LGBT children who are not accepted by their communities are often led toward unhealthy and self-destructive coping mechanisms. LGBT youth, particularly those who are homeless or in foster care, have high rates of substance abuse and are more likely to engage in sex work or prostitution. They, like Morgana, are not given resources to help them cope with the lack of support they received in their childhood and the resulting trauma in healthy ways. This leads Morgana on a quest to destroy Camelot and those she feels have wronged her, destroying herself in the process.

While Merlin never acknowledges the similarities between the plight of magic users and those in the LGBT community or the homoerotic tension built up between Merlin and Arthur and Morgana and Guinevere, among other characters, for many fans it is a powerful allegory.

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