MINI MERCELOT WEEK 2021 | Day 7: Fluff for @little-ligi

Some Things I've Noticed About Merlin

So, don’t get me wrong, I adore Merlin, but I can’t help but notice that he isn’t always as good a guy as some make him out to be, so I thought I’d make this for fun. :) Let’s take a closer look…

In 1x01, Arthur wasn’t the only one ready to beat up a stranger to defend his pride: Merlin was perfectly willing to do the same.

In 1x08, Kilgharrah tells Merlin that Mordred is destined to kill Arthur. Merlin plans to let Mordred die, deciding that the death of this innocent child would be better than the death of Arthur. (He only changes his mind because he feels guilty.)

In 1x12, when Merlin learns that Morgana wants to kill Uther, instead of trying to convince her otherwise, Merlin considers that he might gain from Uther’s death.

In 2x03, sure, Merlin tells Morgana where to meet the Druids, but he could have  gone with her through the serket-infested forest at night.

Argument: “He didn’t want risk his own life.” – That’s pretty selfish reasoning on his part. He had no problem risking his life for Gwen, Freya, Gilli, Arthur, Gaius – even Uther. But when it comes to Morgana, he does as little as he can. Argument: “But that’s because he knows she is destined to turn evil.” Yes, because a crazy dragon told him. Who is Kilgharrah to be a judge of good and evil if he says that there is no such thing as right or wrong? It was proven in 2x13 that Kilgharrah was never trustworthy to begin with. Besides, knowing Morgana is destined to turn evil should make Merlin want to help her even more. Argument: “But he also wanted to protect Morgana from Uther.” Why couldn’t Merlin tell her and then protect her? Ignorance is not bliss if it makes you think you are going mad. It’s like knowing that someone has cancer and not telling them, so they slowly die without knowing what’s wrong with them.

Ah, and my personal favorite: in 2x09, Merlin attempts to drop a gigantic gargoyle on Arthur to protect a stranger (who is currently in bloodthirsty beast mode).

Argument: “But Arthur was a jerk this entire episode.” Actually, just earlier, Arthur saved Merlin from Halig. Even if Arthur was being a jerk, Merlin can’t kill someone simply because they are bothering him. Argument: “Merlin was just blinded by his love for Freya.” Your love for one person shouldn’t make you forget your love for others. If it does, then it’s not love.

In 2x11, Merlin knows that Morgana is being manipulated by Alvarr but doesn’t reach out to her. Then, Merlin trips Mordred in the hopes that knights of Camelot will kill him. Say what you like about Mordred’s destiny and creepy eyes – Merlin still tried to murder a child who had not even done anything wrong yet.

In 1x12, Merlin acknowledges that it’d be murder to kill Uther. How is it less evil to murder Mordred before he kills Arthur than to murder Uther after he drowns children? In 2x12, Merlin betrays and attempts to murder Morgana. What’s more, he couldn’t even do it himself, so he tricked her into doing it.

In 3x01, when Morgana is back, Merlin’s first thought is, “Uh oh! She’ll tattle on me for trying to murder her and then I’ll die!” rather than, “Thank goodness she’s safe – maybe this is my second chance.” Not to mention he justifies this by a simple, “I didn’t want to.” The fact that he didn’t want to doesn’t make it less wrong.

In conclusion, Merlin is an awesome person with good intentions, but it is true that sometimes he can get a little carried away.

(None of the gifs are mine. :3 )

Merlin Learnt Sword Fight Because His Father Died

Hear me out.

Merlin wasn’t good at sword fighting at the beginning of the series. But he didn’t need to be good, he wasn’t expected to be good. 

Merlin comes from Ealdor, a small village. Why would he need to learn sword fight in the beginning? Where would he even learn it? We see this in S1E10 “The Moment of Truth” too, no one in Merlin’s village is good at sword fighting. And no one would have expected them to be.

So all Merlin’s exposure with sword fighting is from Camelot. We see him get beaten up train with Arthur. He obviously would have picked up something with time from those trainings. 

But Merlin is a gentle soul. I don’t think he actively tried to learn it, I don’t think he really paid attention to learn. He has his magic to protect him, and we have seen him rely on it countless times, even in S1E10, where his sword fighting skills fail, he uses his magic. 

How good could he become solely by having exposure to it? By having the comfort of his magic that he knew he could use, how good could he become with that comfort? 

Now, let’s get to season 2. Specifically, S2E13 “The Last Dragonlord”. Time has passed, he has presumably trained with Arthur many more times. But look at this smol bean:

Bam. Sword knocked out. Sword falls off his hand like a leaf. This is a GIF, but even in the whole scene he only lasts for 12 seconds. 12 SECONDS. We are in the last episode of season 2, a lot of time has passed since he came to Camelot. 

But Merlin is still rubbish at sword fight. 

The only thing that saved him was Balinor’s interference, which caused his death.

Now, fast forward, let’s see Merlin in season 3. Canonically a year has passed since S2E13 where Merlin’s father died. The first two episodes of season 3 are “The Tears of Uther Pendragon Part 1 / Part 2”

This is Merlin fighting against Morgana in Part 2.

Morgana is a skilled fighter. And she is going for a kill. She has sided with Morgause, she wants to see Camelot in ruins, and Merlin is the only thing that is trying to stop her. Merlin, who has poisoned her. She is going for a kill.

“What are you going to do? Kill me?”

“You don’t think I can?” And then she attacks.

We have seen her chop Camelot knights -skilled, old knights- left and right in at the end of season 4. She knocks the sword out of Gwen’s hand in a manner of seconds in S4E13 “The Sword In The Stone Part 2″. She jokes about being used to beat young Arthur. She is obviously good. But Merlin at the beginning of season 3, holds his own against her for minutes. 

This same boy, had only lasted for 12 seconds against a regular soldier a year ago. Now, he is lasting for minutes against a skilled fighter.

To be fair, he does lose the sword and rely on his magic at the end. 

But look at him. He doesn’t froze. Look at his eyes. He is calculating, he is cold and ready this time. He dodges. And dodges and dodges and dodges. In S2E13, he had just stared at the sword like a startled cat, even when the soldier attacked. But now he is ready. Morgana isn’t merciful, but he manages to protect himself till he can use magic.

Could he have improved this much if he hadn’t actively tried to learn? We don’t see much difference between S1 and S2, he is still rubbish in S2 but oh, in S3, even Arthur is surprised.

This is from S3E7 “The Castle of Fyrien”. He just… Knocks the guy out. Arthur stares a few seconds to comprehend this. He was going to help Merlin, he had just turned to help but Merlin, who has been helpless as far as he knows, doesn’t look so helpless now.

Wonders never cease.

Arthur.exe has stopped.

Arthur looks at him as if he has seen Merlin for the first time in his life. And in a sense, he has. Merlin had never shown any interest in learning sword fight. He is bad at it. Arthur even jokes to Gwen saying she should protect Merlin. But here, Merlin just knocked the guy. No hesitation.

He has somehow become good at it. He doesn’t hesitate, he doesn’t stare anymore.

Let’s have another example from S3E13 “The Coming of Arthur Part 2″.  

Look. At. This. Boy. Fight. 

He is fighting an immortal soldier. I couldn’t include the beginning but he has cat like reflexes. He explodes the man. Well, that part more has to do with Excalibur, but he injures the man, that’s how Excalibur does its trick. He might not have the perfect footwork but damn his eyes and his determination shows it all.

Look at him. He is waiting for a moment to kill the man and the takes it without hesitation. 

I-

Look how he watches behind Lancelot. Look how he fights. He is so cold and free of hesitation. 

He fights like a fighter. 

He doesn’t look ridiculous -as Arthur’s says- anymore.

And now, one of my favourite moments.

Lancelot gets hurt. Look how concerned he is, rightly so, for his friend.

Just-

Look at him fight. 

He steps in to protect someone very dear to him and kills the immortal soldier within 11-12 seconds. A season ago, he was on the about to be killed side. A season ago, he needed to be protected and his father did it. A season ago, he was beaten in 12 seconds, now he kills in 12 seconds. 

He fucking pulled the UNO reverse card.

I get that skills develop over time. It just might be Merlin got better in season 3 because more time passed. Or maybe he actively tried to learn sword fight because of guilt, because he wouldn’t let anything like what happened to his father ever, ever again. 

Maybe, just because maybe, if he had known how to protect himself with a sword, his father would be alive. Merlin has a self-blaming nature and from his perceptive, if he was good at it, Balinor would have lived.

Balinor wasn’t too bad at sword fight. He wasn’t great, but he wasn’t too bad.

Merlin sees this. 

Merlin sees his father fight. 

Balinor dies when he steps in to protect Merlin. And don’t get me wrong, I could never, ever fault Merlin in such situation, poor boy has been through so much and now loses his father who he only had the chance to meet for a few days. 

I am only trying to look from his perceptive. 

Wouldn’t it be understandable if Merlin blamed himself and vowed to learn sword fight because just maybe, if he had known, Balinor would be still there? Would it be too extraordinary for him to pay close attention to trainings, how Arthur fights and become so determined to learn? And after a year, he improves so much, so drastically. An improvement we didn’t see till the beginning of season 3.

Maybe I am overstretching things. Maybe this is common knowledge. These are just my thoughts and I wanted to say them. 

5 times Merlin does something that requires a considerable amount of strength;

+1 time the gang has time to actually bring it up.

Everyone is baffled, half distracted by Merlin’s surprising buffness and half amused by Arthur’s gay panic:

1)

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QPR!Mergana Prompt:

Blah blah merlin reveals his magic earlier they figure out how to defeat Morgana without killing her blah blah she's redeemed even though her and Merlin are still like HIGHLY suspicious of each other and everyone thinks that either one of them would kill the other at any given moment if given the choice.

The council refuses to allow Morgana to be placed third in line for the crown after the king and queen because 'she'll kill them and then take the thrown legally why on earth would we agree to that?'. Which Arthur and Gwen are annoyed at cause she's redeemed! Have some faith smh

Meanwhile the council is looking beside them where Morgana and Merlin are glaring at each other like theyre about to start civil war all over again cause Morgana 'accidently' threw some hummus in his hair and Merlin 'accidently' spilt some of his wine on her dress and should someone get between that?

But I digress. Someone says 'if she marrys someone of suitable nature to rule *with* her in case the king and queen are dead or otherwise unable to rule, then we can probably agree with it' and everyone sits back and is like damn yeah that's so true random lord nobody cares about

But Arthur of course who found HIS true love (and is now a feminist, good job Gwen and Merlin!) Looks at his sister like 🥺 I'd never force you to marry 🥺 is there anybody you'd be happy to marry? 🥺 if not we can try to argue for something else? 🥺

And Morgana bored as hell, twirling a knife around, but with not a single slick of hesitation is like, 'Merlin.'

And everyone's eyes widen in shock while Merlin uses magic to turn the knife into a well known thorned purple flower (ouch), responds, again without a single slick of hesitation, 'Yeah, sure.'

And jaws drop.

Arthur and Gwen, both on the same page of absolute confusion are like 'what' cause neither of them have seen either of their best friends show any sort of attraction towards the other (and even though they ignore their hostile interactions cause neither of them have been hurt... permanently since she came back). They look at each other like 'did we miss something? Are they together? Is all this hostility some sort of foreplay?)

It is *not* foreplay.

But to understand we'd have to go back to when Morgana and Merlin were friends. You know, when they both were happy and hopeful for a better future.

Because they were *friends*. And even though maybe they weren't *best friends* because Morgana had Gwen and Merlin had Arthur, they were still close! And they still cared for each other and talked about things that they couldn't really talk to their other friends about!

And one of those things is that Morgana doesn't think she'd ever want to have sex. Ever. Like she is repulsed by the idea, girl or boy. And the idea of being married off? And being forced to have an heir she doesn't want? With someone she probably doesn't even like?

Well. That scares the fuck out of her.

And she shares this with Merlin who of course holds her hand because both of them are generally emotionally healthy at the time with physically affection and he shares that he doesn't really care for the idea of sex either. That he isn't completely repulsed by it and wouldn't mind doing it with someone he loved to make them happy but that he doesn't really see them importance of it and what all the fuss is about and that she isn't 'broken' or whatever else she believes and they cry and hug and it's nice and friendly.

They have many conversations where this comes up, a knight will make a dirty joke within hearing range and they'll look to each other across the room to make an 'ick' face before both holding back laughs.

They'll talk about how to respond Gwen and Arthur practically undressing each other with their eyes with equal disgust and fondness.

Maybe Merlin even tells her of Freya and how he thinks he might have loved her and how he doesn't think he wants to again because it took all this time to even maybe like someone romantically and it didn't end well and even though he hears everyone crave it he thinks well maybe he was in love with the idea of loving someone and having someone by his side more than he loved her and does that make him wrong somehow?

And this time it's Morgana's turn to say 'no it's not wrong!' Because she's never understood why her friendship with Gwen and him were supposed to be 'less' than whatever hypothetical romance she'll be forced to have with a man. Because everyone around them always say 'it's like friendship but more' when describing how they fell in love and it makes her stomach turn because why is one love more than another? Can't they both be important? Why is it more and why can't it just be different?

And she says that she thought it was just because she couldn't stand the idea of having sex with someone so she assumed that was why she's never had the feeling of butterflies in her stomach but she goes on with 'if you're wrong then so am I, but since you said I'm not broken then neither are you'.

And they hug and maybe they'll joke around and kiss each other on the hands to show intimacy between friends and neither of them are worried about how it could be misconstrued because they both know there's nothing romantic or sexual about it and they just smile happily.

And maybe Merlin will give her flowers because he knows she likes the purple ones even though they're thorned and maybe she'll show him how to make it into a crown and put it on him just as he puts one on her because well neither of them will be crowned because well he's just a servant and she's just a ward but that doesn't matter in Morganas room while they giggle like peasants and dance like royalty.

Not every talk is as kind as others and especially as Morganas magic gets stronger she gets more and more distant because well Merlin never thought she was broken before but well everyone has a line right?

But one night when he snuck in, he had a rough day where he almost died again and he can't tell anybody (shed also just woken up from another nightmare) so he goes to his friend and she knows he doesn't want to talk about it from the ruffle of his eyebrows (and she doesnt want to talk about it, he can tell from the slightest downward frown) so they lay on the bed and she offers her hand which he takes and they hold each other tight and curl up to share warmth with their hands held between them and neither of them can sleep but sharing this is enough for now.

And maybe- it's been a few minutes or a few hours they're not sure but the sun hasn't risen yet so when Merlin begins to talk it has nothing to do with what's bothering either of them at the moment but both of them love plans and ideas so when he says, 'if one day you are betrothed against your wishes, we could get married instead. Then neither of us would have to worry about being with someone who doesn't understand because I trust you not to take what I don't want to give and I hope you trust me for the same.'

And maybe Merlin hasn't told her about his magic because he's scared and isn't sure and maybe Morgana won't tell him about the dream (nightmare) she just had about a sister because she doesn't think he'd understand but sometimes trusting someone more than anyone else doesn't equal telling them every single thing about yourself even if it hurts to discover it after.

So when Morgana says 'well what lf they try to hurt you for it? What if they think you've enchanted me or something else just as silly. You know how Uther is.'

And they both think 'I fear him more than you know and I'd never wish you harm.'

But Merlin just smiles the tiniest smile with the hint of a dimple that always makes Morgana smile back when she sees it and says, 'Well, we'll protect each other won't we? In sickness and in health?'

And later, much much later, Merlin will give her a cup of tea and end up choosing the lives of thousands of people over her not only cause it was the right thing to do but also because he thought that's what *she* would have wanted too once upon a time when they kissed each other's hands.

And even later than that she will leave him chained up and for certain death on the side of her sister not only cause she thought he betrayed her and thought she was broken after all but also because she doesn't understand why he wouldn't support her birthright even after placing a crown on each other's head while giggling and dancing.

But for that moment in bed before anything terrible happens between then with hands entwined she snorts a little before they both grin. They stare at each other as if measuring the earnestness in each other's eyes before their smiles gentle.

'Promise?' Morgana asks. Because even though she's never been a damsel in distress who needs a prince to save her, the idea of having someone by her side... and that person being someone she trusts is something she's never allowed herself.

But of course Merlin just squeezes their hands tightly like an oath all on its own, 'I promise,' because even though he'll never be a knight, he doesn't need a sword to be there for someone he cares about.

So they smile at each other with love. Not a love that's 'more' than friendship, but they both think separately that maybe it is a little different than their love for Gwen and Arthur even if it isn't the same different kind of love between lovers.

And maybe they fall asleep like that with smiles on their faces before waking up just as dawn hits where they will pull away and Merlin will kiss her on the forehead just as she kisses him on the cheek and they will hug and go their separate ways just before Gwen comes bustling in to begin her servant work for the day. Surprised her Lady is smiling, she asks happily, 'No nightmare?'

And Morgana looks up in surprise, before smiling gently in a way that Gwen can't quite decipher, 'Oh I didn't dream at all.'

And they'll smile at each other and later at dinner she'll stick her tongue out at Merlin behind Uther and Arthur's back when they talk about the next princess for Arthur to woo and even though later it will not be well between then and even later than that it will be even worse-

Eventually they end up in the council room where there are talks about Morgana being crown princess if she is betrothed. And her brother and best friend look at her with worry in their eyes because they'd never wish her to do something against her will but for the briefest of moments, so quick only Merlin would notice, she looks down at the purple wine stain on her dress and thinks about the purple flower crown that was placed gently upon her head and says calmly, assuredly, 'Merlin' as her choice. Because hadn't she already chosen so many years ago?

And his eyes may only flicker towards her, but she only needs to look at her knife transform into a thorned purple flower, thorns just missing her hand, for her to know he's remembering the same moments as her.

'Yeah, sure.'

And maybe everyone thinks they were hiding some sort of torrid romance from them, or that they're crazy, or even that all their hostility is some sort of foreplay for hate sex of some sort.

But they don't know about the long talks they shared while laying on the ground side by side and kisses on each other's hands and flower crowns and giggles and dancing and-

They don't know how it feels to kill and be killed by someone you promised to protect and were promised to be protected by.

They don't know how it feels to go into a battle to the death with someone and wake up to see a glare on their face while their hand is entwined with yours.

So maybe the council will murmur about how the court sorceror would never let her kill for the crown and maybe Arthur and Gwen will murmur worriedly to each other about if this is a good idea? And did they miss something?

And maybe he'll trip her so she falls when she stands up so she knocks the leg of his chair so he falls with her and maybe both of them were *somehow* cushioned so it's an annoyance and not a bruise.

Just as they've always been physical with their affection (it's so important to share how you feel), they try to be emotionally healthy and share their disdain too (best not to bottle it up).

Because, well, even though she'd never take a cup of tea from him and he flinches when he sees her near some chains- when a certain song comes on well they must share a dance, don't they? And if they see some purple flowers, well, flower crowns just must be made- it'd be wrong not to.

And well, if they're married, it's quite normal for them to entwine their hands while they sleep dreamless and warm even if he wakes up with a scratchy pillow and she wakes up with hers covered in slime.

After all, what is love without some pain? And truly, love and hatred are but a slippery slope.

A promise is a promise after all.

OH MY GOD IT'S HAPPENING!!!!!! MERLIN NEEDS TO TREND RIGHT BACK AGAIN NOWWWWW

So, Eoin has been hinting for a while about a Merlin "project"

Sep 29, 2020

And he even outright replied before that:

Which takes us to THE ALMIGHTY PRESENT MOMENT!!!!

HE'S BACK IN IRELAND?? WORKING ON A PROJECT??????

And not just that!!!!!!! LOOK WHAT HE'S WEARINGGGGGGG

EOIN YOU SWEET SWEET MF PLEASE SAVE US FROM OUR MISERY

Silently Pining

Okay, it’s a few hours late. But this idea began as my fic for Alone Together and then as it grew, I realised it worked better for this prompt. And now we have this epic.

It starts off a bit slowly, but I promise it’s BBRae centred.

Warning: This fic has angst. So much angst.

It was a normal mission. It should have been a normal mission. The only difference was the fact Nightwing had called in a special favour. It had been years since the original team of Teen Titans had grown out of their adolescence and decided what they wanted to do with their adult years. Robin had of course taken on the mantle of Nightwing, working both on his own and with Batman; Cyborg had joined the Justice League, and Starfire had remained behind in the original T Tower to train the next generation of teen heroes. Beast Boy had answered a call from Mento to rejoin the Doom Patrol, adopting the name ‘Changeling’ as he decided it was time for people to take more seriously. His time with the Doom Patrol lasted only a few years, but rather than returning to Jump City, he chose to take on international missions for the Justice League that were best suited to his abilities. Raven was the only Titan who left the super hero life altogether, telling the team that after everything she had been through in her short life, she wanted to take time to learn how to just live and enjoy the simple side of things; especially now that she was able to experience her emotions in their fullest. She had however, taken the communicator Nightwing offered her, promising she would always answer the call if she was needed.

That was what had led to now – Raven lying in an infirmary bed in the Justice League Headquarters. An old foe had resurfaced after lying low for nearly a decade; Dr Light had never been a serious threat to the Teen Titans, and no one thought that he could be any more dangerous after having been gone for so many years. That was why Nightwing called in the favour, Changeling was currently on a mission in the deep arctic, Cyborg was off-world and Starfire’s team was dealing with an escaped Cinderblock who was terrorising downtown. So Nightwing had pulled out his old communicator and called the person who had always been able to handle Light in a matter of minutes – Raven. True to her word, the sorceress had answered the call and arrived to take care of the problem.

It should have been a normal mission. A decade ago, the mere sight of Raven and her tendrils of dark power had been enough to reduce Dr Light to a quivering, crying mess. But ten years is a long time – a lifetime in terms of technological advancements, as Raven quickly learned upon entering the street that Light was currently occupying. It was all over in a crash of blinding light. It appeared that Dr Light had been somehow expecting the dark ex-Titan and had invented a new bomb specifically for her. Where once she had been able to surround him in darkness and fear, he had found a way to surround her with a flash so bright, it knocked the demoness from the sky, sending her hurtling to the ground like a broken bird.

As soon as he lost contact with her, Nightwing flew from Gotham to Jump City; eventually finding her crumpled body amongst the wreckage of a building. He transported her immediately to the JL Headquarters. It didn’t look good. Whatever Dr Light had done, it had broken many of Raven’s bones and caused internal injuries. The League could heal her body, but they had no idea where to even begin trying to heal her mind. Dr Light’s explosion and the extent of her injuries had put her in some sort of a coma that no one was able to explain or wake her from. Nightwing put the call out then, to all the past Titans. Raven needed them.

Changeling was the last to arrive. A week after Raven had been brought into the infirmary, and he being so deep in the Arctic, no one was sure he would even get enough of a signal to receive the message. He crashed through the door to the room Raven was being kept in. Six months alone in the snow made him look more animal than man, the effect not helped when he barked at everyone to get out of the room immediately and releasing a guttural growl when they sat staring at him in shock instead. “It’s okay. I got this.” Cyborg assured Nightwing and Starfire, shooing them out of the room. Aside from the couple themselves, he was the only person who knew the real reason why Raven had left the Titans ten years ago. And why Changeling, then still going by Beast Boy, was suddenly so happy to join his old team whom he’d had so many issues with in the past.

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Do you think Gwaine saw Merlin in this scene and let him go?

I'm was going to publish this post since quite some time. @auroromunroe post motivated me to do it today.

This is the 5x07 episode where Merlin is accused by Gwen of poisoning Arthur and flees his cell to save him. Along the way, he encounter Gwaine's group searching the castle and runs away from them.

Knights stop in the courtyard when the figure they previously saw in the corridor disappears.

From Merlin's perspective hidden behind the barrels, we see Gwaine looking around and for a brief moment looking directly at Merlin.

Few moment later, we see Merlin, who entered Arthur's chambers through the window. Right after him, Gwaine appears (using the door of course) and informs Gwen and Gaius that there is an intruder in the castle.

And we see this:

Gwen refuses to leave Arthur, but Gwaine and Gaius convince her that her safety is a top priority at this point.

During this scene we see both Gwaine and Gaius glancing toward the veil behind which Merlin is hidden. At one point, Gwaine looks straight at that spot, and before he leaves, almost forcing Gwen to leave with him, he gives Gaius one more look.

Neither of them are stupid, and both are aware that the other knows someone else is in the room. Surely, they both connecting dots: intruder in the palace, raised alarm, wrongly accused Merlin and someone's presence in the king's chambers, while the castle is guarded by all available knights.

Gwaine doesn't react in any way, because Gaius in no way shows him that this is something or someone they should be afraid of.

They both suspect Merlin, and Gwaine trusts Merlin and Gaius enough not to react more than required in this crisis situation.

I think he learned this lesson earlier when Gwen gave orders to arrest Merlin. We don't see it on the show but I'm sure it happened.

Gwaine's reaction to the allegations against Merlin.

Gwaine, of all people, certainly didn't take it lightly. There's no way he believe in these accusations even for one second.

His reaction was certainly violent, but surely he was stopped by one of a knights or Gaius or even by Merlin before the guards dragged him out of the room.

Because what could he really do? If he had defied Gwen, who was already on the brink as everyone thought, and tried to prevent Merlin from being put in prison, he would have ended up behind bars with him. What would be the use of that?

All he could do for Merlin was to concentrate on finding the real culprit and clear his name.

I will never believe that Gwaine wouldn't have fought for Merlin. And I will certainly never believe that Gwaine believed these false accusations.

So he just pulled Gwen out of Arthur's chambers, and took her to a safer place while trusting that Gaius and Merlin knew what they were doing.

And if he trusted them, he was right. Because Arthur was up in the morning, maybe a little tired but looking pretty good for someone who had been given a lethal poison. And what's important Arthur ordered letting Merlin out as soon as he heard about this insane accusations against him.

And the only thing that stopped Gwaine from running straight to Merlin was Gaius, whom he had to wait for.

Gwaine as Heir to Camelot

So it has come to my attention that in many versions of the King Arthur story, Gwaine is technically Arthur’s nephew, and since Arthur never has any children, the rightful heir to Camelot. And just… I know it doesn’t fit with Merlin canon in so many different ways, but what if Arthur dies (and Gwaine doesn’t because he didn’t die he just passed out) and Geoffrey of Monmouth, the Court Genealogist, figures out that Gwaine is the rightful heir and he just… assumes the throne? Can you imagine?

So Gwaine is obviously not qualified for diplomatic relations, so he asks Gwen, who is apparently now his aunt, to stay on as Queen Regent and they share power. She handles dealing with other kingdoms and convinces them that no, Camelot is not going to just utterly fall apart now that Arthur is dead and manages to maintain some dignity for her late husband, herself, and the realm.

Meanwhile, Gwaine handles a lot of the domestic policy and just… it’s wild. Some of it is expected, like lifting the ban on sorcery and instating Merlin as the Court Sorcerer or allowing more commoners to become knights. But then he also straight up removes the gender barrier for soldiers (seeing as he’s gotten his ass kicked by enough ladies to know that he needs them in the army) and abolishes the nobility and redistributes most of their land throughout the peasantry. Taverns don’t have to pay taxes and apple orchards are funded to an absurd degree. He starts a menagerie of magical creatures that little kids can visit as long as they don’t mind risking their life to do so (no one has actually died, though, because it’s not as dangerous as he makes it out to be; he just wants the kids to get a taste of adventure). You can legally fight anyone who refuses to pay your wages or provide a promised pension. The rules of inheritance are expanded to include women, because after all, his Aunt Gwen (he refuses to call her anything else) got half the throne, so why shouldn’t low-born women have the same rights?

Basically, he’s the Himbo King that Arthur could have been if he actually drank his respecting other people juice

In a blink there’s a mace in his hands and Merlin is stood before him, young confused and flinching away.

Arthur freezes, frowns, and then lowers the mace while giving Merlin a confused look. “Merlin,” he says slowly, a warning in his tone that an explanation better be imminent.

But the Merlin standing before him frowns, not least of all at the familiarity in Arthur’s tone but over the fact that Arthur is no longer trying to squash him like a bug with the mace he’s wielding. Arthur looks around. He takes a good long look around him and sighs.

This might be his own fault, but either way…

He grabs Merlin by the arm, ignores the way he starts to immediately squirm to get free and, ignoring everyone in the town around them, marches Merlin to the only place he knows is safe right now - Gaius’ chambers. Merlin complains the whole way but he does so in the same blithe manner he’d done before he knew Arthur and really had things to complain about (Arthur can be self-aware when the occasion calls for it).

Gaius rises when Arthur marches Merlin inside and offers a hesitant, “Sire?”

Arthur makes sure to shut the door before he finally lets go of Merlin. “I’m willing to accept this may partially have been my fault,” Arthur says, which is a very big concession and he’s annoyed that this is happening where - when? - no one is around to acknowledge it. “But Merlin, please tell me you can reverse this?”

“Reverse what?” He asks.

Arthur pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a moment to breathe. “This morning,” he says slowly, like he’s talking to an idiot (he is - at least right now), “I made the mistake of remarking that I wondered what my life would be like if I’d known about your magic from the beginning.”

Merlin makes a choked sound but Arthur isn’t done.

“And now I find myself at the beginning of our relationship. Care to explain?”

Merlin, Arthur could tell, did not.

Fantastic

It’s the fact that when enchanted!Merlin calls Gwaine filthy, instead of a hands-out, “What the hell, man?” he just turns into a kicked puppy.

…Or perhaps, more accurately, a pangolin.

no like season 1 merlin rocks up to camelot and every magic user he meets is burnt out, bitter, or both. in season 5 mordred rocks up to camelot and the senior magic user that’s burned out and bitter is merlin. it’s merlin that’s perpetuating the cycle of hurt now and that’s crazy and they never get into it!

in my head after the events of camlann merlin returns to camelot and, still riddled with terrible guilt and grief, confesses to leon about everything that had happened and everything he had done, magic and all. and instead of outrage or betrayal or scorn or judgement (or even death, as he had briefly considered) leon shatters him with a deeply apologetic expression and a whispered “my friend… you must have been so afraid, and so tired.” and merlin collapses into heaving sobs against him and doesn’t get back up for a long time.

#sir leon’s long suffering has nothing on the suffering of the entire round table during report time MERLIN | 5x03 “The Death Song of Uther Pendragon”

Beast Boy Headcanon/Vignette

He’s going to outlive everyone.

Gar thinks its rather typical of his luck that he watches all his friends grow old and leave him. Dick goes peacefully in his sleep at the respectable age of 81. Vic manages to live for a good 112 years, but prosthetics can only push a lifespan so long, and ultimately he’s human under all that metal. Star lives to the venerable age of 155. But Gar can always see it coming, he can tell his friends are slowing down for years hence, forgetting things. It’s all part of life, a force he’s intimately familiar with.

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DICK GRAYSON GOT SUPERPOWERS AND IMMEDIATELY SAVED A BUNCH OF LIVES AND WENT TO GO TALK TO HIS FRIENDS ON THEIR LEVEL, AND WHEN HE ONLY HAD 20 MINUTES LEFT HE JUST WANTED TO GO SAY HI TO HIS UNCLE CLARK. AND THE WAY CLARK LOOKS AT THIS KID, EVERY PANEL OF HIS EXPRESSION SAYS HOW MUCH HE LOVES DICK GRAYSON, HOW PROUD HE IS OF THE MAN HE’S BECOME, THE HERO HE HAS FORGED HIMSELF INTO, AND WANTS TO SHARE SOMETHING UNIQUE AND MEANINGFUL WITH HIM. CLARK ISN’T EVEN WATCHING THE PLANET BELOW THEM, HE’S WATCHING DICK, THIS YOUNG MAN WHO HAS BEEN A NEPHEW TO HIM, BECAUSE THAT’S DICK GRAYSON’S REAL SUPERPOWER:  PEOPLE LOVE HIM AND HE LOVES THEM

aksjdhdkkd how did i lose track of what that goblin did in goblin’s gold. he spit in leon’s face and then gave him boils. gwen basically fucking shit herself in front of arthur and the rest of the court, which is so fucking funny i can barely type it out, he slapped uther’s head with enough force to throw a typhoon off course, gave arthur the ears and VOICE of a mule, and after all that, when merlin finally got the little shit back into that gd container, merlin just...doesnt fix the consequences. Like he kills himself laughijg over arthur braying like a fucking mule, which btw is the most obnoxious thing ive ever heard, and do you think he regrew uther’s hair?? no. That fucking goblin rained down enough hellfire to make God jealous and that little asshole we call a protagonist did shit all about it, which is even goddamn funnier