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pyjamacryptid · 9 months

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The Romance Section

A ficlet I wrote in one sitting to see if I could 😅

TW: Accidental voyeurism, but barely anything is seen. It’s all fluff. First kiss. Merthur.

The search for a singular book should not be as arduous a journey as the trek to Moria, Daegal thought to himself.

The maze of his university’s library was a magical place, sure, but in the sense that only witchcraft could cause every single person to find themselves lost in it, at least once. Remembering the time he’d found himself in the psychology section instead of the botany section, Daegal had asked one of the librarians for the specific location of his book. The librarian had been a young man but he’d sighed like an ancient one when he scrawled across the scrap of paper and slid it across the desk to Daegal. Feeling awkward, he’d scurried off and moments later he found himself lost.

What an odd phrase, Daegal thought idly. To find himself lost. But he was. Very very very lost.

Daegal could hear but it was so indistinct it only confused him further. Pages rustled, a pencil scratched paper, keyboards clacked, a person coughed, a slight whisper.

The shelves were made of oak and just as tall as an oak, it seemed. They towered over Daegal and their canopy shaded him from the fluorescent lights. They wore signs; the framed paper next to him read 130 PARAPSYCHOLOGY AND OCCULTISM. Psychology was on the other end of the library from where he started, and he’d started at 400! He had been trying to find 500! How on earth had he ended up here again?

He sighed long and deep, his head so slumped forward he looked like a cane made of jelly. Well, this was the 100 section - in terms of the DDC anyway - so it was only logical that he’d just follow the shelves numerically until he reached 580, right? Mind made up, Daegal walked back the way he had come.

Ten minutes later, Daegal had bravely discovered the Literature section (Class 800) and was seconds from shouting. This being the quiet section of the library was the point; it would summon a librarian in moments who’d carry him off to safety kick him out instantly. Daegal, unfortunately, was a polite and responsible young lad and kept his mouth shut.

It was good he did because he heard indistinct quiet voices, much closer than any he’d heard in a while. Perhaps only an aisle or two away, even. This was good! If he found who belonged to the voices, they could hopefully direct him back to civilisation! (And not get him further lost).

Daegal crossed an aisle and then came upon a little nook. It was a small, square space bordered by two sets of shelves and two walls that joined into a corner. This must be one of the back walls of the library, Daegal surmised and, by the looks of the desks and armchairs, a desirable and cosy little place to read, too. If one could find their way out again, that is.

As he came upon the threshold of this small nook (the bordering shelves on either side of him), the voices - though still hushed - grew louder by proximity. It sounded like two people, unless someone wasn’t speaking of course. He looked about and there, to the left, was the back of a narrow head covered in dark, cropped hair and framed by overly large ears— Was that Professor Pryce? The head turned towards Daegal ever so slightly and— yes! It was! Red scarf and all!

Professor Merlin Pryce was his teacher for the history of plants in medicine this semester. It was Daegal’s favourite class, so far. Professor Pryce was a favourite of students, especially since he did all he could to make the subject interesting.

“I near developed atrophy when I took this class myself, it was so droll,” he’d told them. His guest lecturer, Dr Gaius Wynne-Jones, had smacked him round the head for that. Daegal had been shocked until the student beside him had informed him they were related or something.

Back in the library, Daegal opened his mouth to greet his professor like a shipwrecked man that had finally spotted a boat—

A second voice spoke, it’s owner just out of view, and Daegal suddenly remembered Professor Pryce wasn’t alone. Unable to escape his curse of politeness, Daegal peeked around the shelf he stood next to. It could be nothing, just idle conversation, but he didn’t want to interrupt or impose. Yes, this was technically public, but this was also a very quiet, almost private corner of the library.

The owner of the second voice turned out to be a second man, perhaps the same age as Professor Pryce. He had blond hair that swept over his forehead and wore something Daegal had heard people refer to as ‘business casual’. Ironed, black trousers, nice shoes and a peacoat, left unbuttoned over a dress shirt. He stood rather close to Professor Pryce and both of them seemed comfortable enough with it that Daegal assumed they must know each other either very well, for a very long time, or both. Daegal had never seen him around so it was unlikely he was a professor here, especially if he knew Professor Pryce. Professor Smith was always waiting outside his classroom to have lunch with Professor Pryce.

Professor Pryce and his friend appeared to be in deep conversation, based on how soft spoken they remained, their closeness and the— the way they were looking at one another? Daegal didn’t want to presume. It was hard not to though, when the blond man seemed to hesitate for a moment and then, as if he got a burst of courage, took Professor Pryce’s hand in his own. Then, as if naturally and without much thought, he cradled it, ‘til the back of Professor Pryce’s hand was against his heart.

“Merlin,” he murmured, louder than he had been since, as if it had been punched out of him. “You must know I…”

His voice faded away again.

Professor Pryce scrunched his brows at their intertwined hands, as if confused, and then blinked firmly, once, as if he thought he was seeing things. Nothing changed so he looked up, into his companion’s face. Professor Pryce must see what Daegal could unmistakably see, meters away and half behind a shelf, because he said “Oh, shut up.” and swooped in.

Daegal sprung back. He had been looking to make sure he wouldn’t impose! Not to actually impose! Panicked and praying to the library gods that he wouldn’t be heard and therefore actually interrupt, he scurried away again, as far away as he could.

He hoped he actually found the Psychology section again. Instead, he stumbled across Botany. Go figure.

A/N: I gave Merlin the surname Pryce in this little fic because Pryce means “son of Rhys” (as in, ap Rhys), and ‘rhys’ is in ‘Emrys’ so I thought that was fun and decided to try it out!

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evienyx · 8 months

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Do I have over 14k worth of words for you (likely) later today? Yes. Are they for anything I’ve already published? No.

Are they for a fully-contained Merlin fanfic?

Possibly.

#just letting everyone know real quick #I’m p proud of it actually #considering I wrote it in two days inspired by a tiktok #good enough to publish fs #it’s definitely merthur too so #cant believe a tiktok is what made me finally bite the bullet and write a Merlin fic #wild

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its-hyperfixation · 1 year

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"i'd lay down my life for you."

Merlin gets hurt when he knowingly walks into a trap. Arthur isn't happy with him.

Word count: 2k

for my beloved, @bellamyblakru. i love you forever and i would truly do anything for you. hope you like this :)

special thank you to my bestie @kandi-pendragon for proof reading it for me!!

Merlin knew he shouldn’t have gone alone. Gaius had tried to stop him but he hadn’t had a choice. Morgana had threatened Arthur’s life if he didn’t agree to meet with her. He couldn’t risk anything happening to Arthur. His Arthur. He had to go.

He thought he was prepared and ready to handle anything she threw at him. He was Merlin Emrys after all, the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the Earth. He knew Morgana was going to try to kill him but he wasn’t afraid of her. He could handle her.

Unfortunately, he was wrong. It was a miracle he had even managed to make it back to Camelot alive. He had truly thought he was going to die where Morgana had left him after inflicting the worst pain he had ever felt in his life. He could feel his blood dripping out of all the wounds she gave him, making his head woozy from the blood loss. He could feel his bones, broken in more places then he could count. But he couldn’t die out here. He couldn’t leave Arthur defenceless against her. He had to make it. For Arthur.

Making it to the lower town had been the easy part. Getting to Gaius’ chambers undetected was the real challenge. Merlin could barely walk without screaming in pain but he had to stay quiet. He didn’t want anyone to see him like this and tell Arthur. He had only made it to the cathedral when he fell to the ground with a shout of pain.

He tried to get up quickly, but he heard footsteps approaching.

“Merlin! Merlin, what’s happened?!”

Percival and Elyan came into Merlin’s view as he tried to gather himself. “Nothing, I- I’m fine,” he said.

“Are you mad?” Elyan shouted, “Merlin, you look half dead!! What happened to you?”

“Nothing, nothing. Please just- just get me to my chambers.” Merlin struggled to speak as he coughed and tasted the metallic tang of blood in his mouth.

“I’ll go and get Arthur-“ Percival started before Merlin shot up and grabbed his arm. “No! No, please don’t tell him!”

“Merlin, I have to!” he yelled before pulling his arm away and running towards the castle.

“Elyan, Elyan, ple- please stop him! Please just take me to my chambers,” Merlin cried.

“I’m sorry, Merlin. We must inform Arthur. Now come, put your arms around me.”

Merlin could do nothing but oblige as he cried out in pain when he stood up while leaning against Elyan. After the most excruciatingly painful walk to his chambers he had ever experienced, Merlin nearly collapsed as Elyan kicked the door open and shouted for Gaius.

“Oh! Merlin!” Gaius cried as he ran towards them, “What happened to you?!”

“Please help him, Gaius!” Elyan said as he helped Merlin further into the room.

Gaius quickly cleared his work table as Elyan brought Merlin over and they helped him on to it. Merlin cried out in pain as he laid down, hot tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Gaius, please,” he cried weakly, “please stop the pain.”

Gaius quickly moved to grab a pain relieving medicine when the door burst open once more.

“Merlin! Where’s Merlin?!” Arthur was shouting as he rushed in but then he stopped in his tracks when he saw him. His Merlin. Covered in blood, sweat, and tears, writhing in pain.

“Merlin,” he whispered, his breaths coming in short gasps, before he slowly came over to his side and fell to his knees. Tears gathered in his eyes as Arthur carefully grabbed Merlin’s hand, fully taking in all of his wounds.

“Sire, I need to treat him,” Gaius spoke gently, trying to get Arthur to move away from the table.

“Right, right, of course,” Arthur replied as he slowly stood to his feet. Just as he was about to step away, he felt Merlin’s hand tighten around his.

“Don- don’t go,” Merlin rasped out, trying to open his eyes to see Arthur standing before him.

Arthur moved closer again, now gripping Merlin’s hand in both of his. “I’m not. I’m not going anywhere. You’re safe now.”

Merlin nodded slightly before trying to smile when his eyes rolled into the back of his head and everything went black.

He could feel something heavy resting on his arm. He tried to open his eyes but they wouldn’t budge. His entire body felt like lead and he let out a groan as he tried to shift around a bit. Whatever was weighing on his arm was definitely not helping.

Merlin used all his energy to force his eyes open, only to cringe at the light coming in through the windows. Slowly, he tried to look around as he realized where he was. He was in Gaius’ chambers. Safe. He heaved a sigh of relief.

His body felt completely numb, but at least it was better than the nauseating pain Morgana had left him in. Suddenly, Merlin’s arm began to prickle but he couldn’t move it out from under whatever was on top of it. With great difficulty, he raised his head to try and see what was pressing down on his arm. When he saw what, or rather who, it was, Merlin gasped and quickly laid his head back down.

Arthur.

What was Arthur doing here?! And laying on his arm?!

Eventually, the tingling sensation in Merlin’s arm began to feel unbearable, forcing him to try and move it out from under Arthur’s head. As he wiggled it around and flexed his fingers, Arthur began shifting, murmuring something in his sleep.

“Not now Merlin… Mm, go away,” Arthur mumbled, nestling his head further into Merlin’s arm. A moment passed where neither of them moved. Then, Arthur’s eyes flew open.

“Merlin!” he shouted, shooting up into a sitting position, “Merlin, you’re awake!” he laughed, before leaning down and hugging Merlin, pressing his face into the crook of his neck.

Merlin’s body went stiff. What is going on?!

He had never been more confused in his entire life. Arthur’s hair tickled against his cheek as he continued to hold Merlin. Suddenly, Arthur’s shoulders began to shake slightly. To say Merlin was shocked would be an understatement.

He tried to speak but nothing came out. After clearing his throat and swallowing a few times, Merlin finally spoke, “Si- Sire? What’s happened?”

Arthur froze. Slowly, he pulled away from Merlin, keeping his head down.

“Sire?”

When Arthur looked up, Merlin felt like the floor had been pulled out from beneath his feet. Arthur’s eyes were red, his cheeks stained with tears. Merlin’s heart pounded rapidly in his chest.

“Merlin,” Arthur whispered, sniffling, “You were gone, Merlin. Gaius said- Gaius said you might not ever wake up. I thought…”

Merlin couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Arthur gently grabbed Merlin’s hand before continuing, “I thought I’d lost you.”

The only thing Merlin could do was stare at his king in stunned silence.

Suddenly, Arthur’s demeanour shifted completely. His body stiffened as he let go of Merlin’s hand and stood, turning away and wiping the tears off his face. When he looked back at Merlin, his eyes were no longer soft. Instead, they were filled with something else. Rage.

“Merlin,” he spoke harshly, causing Merlin to gulp. “Who did this to you?”

Merlin had never seen Arthur look like this before. He shook his head slightly as he struggled to sit up before attempting to speak, “Arthur, it’s nothing-”

“Nothing?! You call this nothing? Merlin, you were dead!” Arthur shouted as Merlin flinched at the volume. But that didn’t stop him from continuing.

“You’ve been asleep for six days! Six days, Merlin! Do you have any idea what I’ve been through during that time?! I thought I’d lost you forever!” he was breathing heavily now, tears building in his eyes as he paced across the room.

He paused, gathering himself before turning to Merlin and speaking in a low, guttural voice, “Tell me the truth. Who did this to you?”

Merlin could do nothing but comply, “It was… it was Morgana.”

“Of course it was,” Arthur sighed, running a rough hand through his hair as he continued pacing, “How did she get to you? Did she have you kidnapped? I’ll have a word with the utterly useless guards who let that happen-”

“No, no, Sire,” Merlin interrupted and Arthur stopped to look at him, waiting to hear what he had to say.

“I- I went to her willingly…” Merlin looked up at Arthur to see his eyes wide and he tried to continue, “She sent me a message and I-”

“Are you insane?! Merlin, why on earth would you ever go see Morgana alone?!”

“She said to come alone, or else she would-”

“Or else what, Merlin?!” Arthur was fully yelling now. “What could possibly be more important than your life?! You could have at least told Gwaine or Lancelot! I cannot believe you would do something so stupid! I really expected better from you Mer-”

“You.”

“What?” Arthur asked, confusion replacing his anger for a moment.

Merlin looked down at his hands, picking at the edge of a bandage before quietly speaking, “You asked me what could possibly be more important than my life. The answer is you.”

Silence.

Merlin heard nothing but the sound of his own laboured breathing for a few moments. He risked a glance up at Arthur, his heart pounding in his throat, only to see Arthur staring back at him.

He cleared his throat as he looked down again before continuing, “She sent me a message saying that if I didn’t come meet her, alone, then she would spare no effort in ending your life. I knew it was a trap but I had no choice, my lord. She knows too much about the inner workings of Camelot, I just… I couldn’t risk your life like that. I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t-” Arthur sighed as he hesitated, “Don’t apologize.”

Merlin looked up at him to see that his eyes were soft again. Unsure of what to say next, Merlin gave his king a little smile.

Arthur chuckled at that, shaking his head before looking at Merlin again.

“You’re a dollophead, you know that?”

Merlin laughed before clutching his ribs in pain.

“Careful!” Arthur scolded, quickly rushing to Merlin’s side.

Merlin groaned before looking up at Arthur, only to see his face was just a few inches away. The breath left his lungs as his ears turned pink at the proximity. Arthur gazed into his eyes so lovingly that Merlin began to feel woozy.

“Don’t ever do that to me again, Merlin,” Arthur spoke softly, scanning every inch of Merlin’s face.

“No promises,” Merlin breathed out.

Arthur smirked, shaking his head again before glancing at Merlin’s lips.

Merlin gulped, unable to process what was happening. If this was what it took for Arthur to finally make a move then he would’ve gotten nearly killed a long time ago.

Arthur looked back into Merlin's eyes before saying, “I love you, you know?”

Merlin wasn’t breathing at this point.

“Y- you do?” he gasped out.

“Mhmm,” Arthur nodded, a little smile on his face. He stepped impossibly closer and placed his hands on the table on either side of Merlin before glancing back and forth between his eyes and lips.

“Uh, well…” Merlin struggled to speak, trying to build up the courage to reply, “I uh… I love you, too.”

“Is that so?” Arthur teased. Merlin’s face was actually on fire and he could do nothing but nod.

Arthur began leaning closer and just as Merlin closed his eyes, the door burst open and Gwaine came strolling in, munching on an apple loudly.

“Merlin!” he shouted happily with his mouth full, as Arthur jumped away from the table, “You’re awake!”

Gwaine practically ran over and pulled Merlin into a hug, “We thought you were a goner!” he said, patting his back roughly.

“Ow, Gwaine- You’re hurting me,” Merlin squirmed in his grip.

“Sorry, sorry,” Gwaine giggled, softening his hold on Merlin, “I just missed you so much.”

Begrudgingly, Merlin wrapped his arms around Gwaine to return his hug, making eye contact with Arthur over his shoulder.

His king suppressed a smile as he scratched the back of his neck before shrugging.

The day he was fully recovered, Merlin was gonna kill Gwaine.

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strawberrycheeks-and-glasses · 11 months

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Ok but high key loving the resurgence of the Merlin fandom - my people. We never left but like I’m glad the tumblr fandom is still alive and well.

#bbc merlin #Merlin #bbc merthur #midnight thoughts #I’m actually trying to write a merthur fic rn but it’s not working bc I haven’t written them in centuries

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teecupangel · 1 year

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What about a crossover with Doctor Who? I can imagine each of the assassins meeting The Doctor, and they will become companion to The Doctor. Also, The Master working with the templars to try to take over Earth. (You don't have to do this ask if you haven't seen the show.)

Oh man…

I was thinking that it would be cool if the Doctor regenerated to Desmond but I realized that it wouldn’t be Desmond himself, just the Doctor taking his face (kinda of like how Twelve isn’t the same dude as the one in Pompeii or the one in Torchwood) so instead, have this alternative:

The Doctor’s primary companion is Desmond who, at this point, is just a simple bartender running away from his past.

Instead of the Assassins becoming companions of the Doctor, it’s the Tardis doing her own thing and bringing the Doctor and Desmond to their lives.

Maybe it’s just a random day where a medjay is looking for all those Bastet-forsaken cats which turned into this hunt for a feline alien species who were actually abducting the little furballs.

Maybe they get lost on this foggy island and meet a random mercenary who was there for a job and it turns out this supposed mythological creature she is hunting was some kind of hostile alien lifeforce who should not be in earth at all.

Maybe they were just looking at one of the oldest churches in the world when a raiding party starts burning things and the Doctor is forced to help Desmond fend them off so that the villagers could run away.

Then it starts getting personal. Desmond meets the Assassins of old.

An arrogant Syrian who doesn’t even realize just how lonely he was because he had always been alone.

A fallen Italian noble so wrapped in grief and rage, not giving himself enough time to rest.

A young Indigenous American finding himself in the middle of the Americans’ bid for independence, only wishing to protect his village.

Desmond doesn’t know them but he feels a connection with them. The Doctor stresses that they cannot change the past, that doing so would be catastrophic for the entire timeline.

So Desmond doesn’t. He helps anyway he can that the Doctor allows but he never forgets them. He never forgets…

The throwing knife Altaïr gives him silently before they left…

The warmth of Ezio’s final embrace…

The quiet goodbye he shared with Ratonhnhaké:ton…

Even as he continues to be the Doctor’s companion…

Spending a few weeks sailing the West Indies with a pirate captain, looking for a ghost ship that the Doctor was sure was some kind of spaceship with a failing cloaking system…

Watching the earthquake in Lisbon and only being able to help the people who swam towards the ship they were in…

Accidentally getting swept up into the storming of Bastille prison because the Tardis brought them smack in the middle of the said prison…

Meeting Florence Nightingale at Lambeth Asylum and getting the Doctor to help out any way he can…

In the end, Desmond still ends up sacrificing his life to protect the world in 2012 but the Doctor ends up accidentally saving him in a sense. Desmond has one of the highest recorded Isu gene percentage in humanity and Isus were descended from the alien species that later evolved to Timelords. By being in close proximity to the Tardis for so long, his body had become a hybrid of human, Isu and Tardis itself due to the Huon particles and Desmond’s body composition itself. Whether this had been Minerva’s endgoal though… remains a mystery.

Because of this, Desmond sorta regenerated instead of dying but, because of how ‘alien’ Desmond had become, the Tardis starts having an allergic reaction to him. Instead of leaving him stranded somewhere, the Doctor gives him a TARDIS coral so he could grow a TARDIS of his own that wouldn’t be allergic to him.

It might take thousands of years to have his own TARDIS but…

Desmond was looking forward to it.

To having his own adventures with his own companions…

#yeah #i definitely mixed up rose and clara’s storyline for desmond #i’m not sorry #i didn’t say anything on which doctor desmond is the companion of so go pick your fav #haven’t seen the show?#nonny the revival made me watch so many british shows #just because my biheart was badumpdump for billie piper #which led me to watching bbc merlin and falling in love with merthur #but anyway #assassin's creed #desmond miles #i feel like it would a bit of a cheat to tag the other characters #doctor who #the doctor #ask and answer #teecup writes/has a plot #fic idea: assassin's creed #fic idea: doctor who #fic idea: crossover

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rosaacicularis · 1 year

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hmmmm….. thinking about my bbc merlin scarian au

#this is not because i’ve been reading non stop merthur fics for like three months i SWEAR (<- is lying so unbelievably hard)#the way scar has to pretend to hate him after everyone finds out grian has magic #the way scar has to bide his time until he’s king so he can repeal the ban #the way i’m going to make cub first knight and also give him magical powers #the way he told scar because he was terrified of himself #the way scar vowed to protect cub with his life #the way grian was raised knowing of every single prophecy that pertained to ‘xelqua’#the way he tries so hard to reject his fate; his destiny #the way he trusts it blindly after he meets scar… because it’s scar #the way i kind of want to write it so bad rn #scarian #hermitshipping #grian #gtws

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prettyboybuck · 5 months

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I’m probably gonna change my theme soon and make it more Merlin coded…. Just a warning to all my incredible stucky/marvel mutuals

#i love you all forever okay #stucky is forever for me and I appreciate everyone I met and grew with in that fandom #I just hate marvel now mostly I feel like they really produce some trash ass content I’m sorry lmfao #and Merlin and merthur have been such a constant in my fandom brain for 10 years and I just love the Merlin fandom #I want to be more involved like I want people to look at my blog and know what it’s about you know #cause rn it reads as as marvel blog still #idk what my new url should be agh #I wanna write Merlin fics too but im SCARED I haven’t written in so long idk how to do it #anyways #just thought I’d post cause a lot of my mutuals are still marvel esque blogs #i absolutely will NOT be offended if anyone unfollows I love you forever and you can always find me on insta leejordana if you want

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aro-tarot · 2 years

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I was going to paint tonight, but I decided to figure out a better scene for the Four of Cups before I drew it out.

Damn, I feel stupid for not thinking of this one scene 😂

I was having a hard time with that one. (There are three that have been hard which is why I’ve put them towards the end.) Then I was looking through the episodes, and boom, perfect scene was right there. I just hadn’t thought of it.

And it’s not just what is happening in the scene but how the scene looks too, like, the poses and environment. It’s perfect, so now I’m excited to do the card.

I’m just waiting for this stomachache to go away a bit, and then I’ll draw it out.

#I also write some more of this first chapter of a new Merthur fic #the chapters for this one are way longer #but I don’t mind because the writing is better and I’m feeling this story #des says stuff

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that-nerd-who-writes-fanfiction · 3 months

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I need a fic where Merlin doesn’t know he’s Emrys and doesn’t know about his destiny, he’s just a good person who sees someone constantly almost dying and saves him because he can’t just sit and do nothing.

Kilgharrah doesn’t exist. Plot holes aside, the bitchy basement gecko can go to hell.

Anyway.

This all takes place during The Beginning of The End episode.

Mordred doesn’t call Merlin Emrys, he just cries out for help (and for his dad). Merlin steps in, the rest of the episode is the same but Merlin is determined to help the druid boy he found. Without crusty dinosaur harping on, he gets to choose the right thing for his own morals and critical thinking. Gaius is unsurprisingly resistant, so Merlin is being extremely careful, then Arthur finds him in Morgana’s chambers while he’s healing Mordred.

Let’s go with Morgana already knows about Merlin’s magic and he’s been helping her too against Gaius’ advice.

Arthur feels betrayed and is upset because Merlin can’t seem to give him a straight answer about anything. It’s all still new to him, but he’s learning that Merlin is good even if he doesn’t answer any of Arthur’s questions about magic or why he doesn’t use spells or anything like that. He’s angry but he can’t punish Merlin and free Mordred without being hypocritical, so he mostly sulks.

In all the perceived lies, Arthur snaps and instead of punishing him, he doesn’t let Merlin leave his side until he tells the truth.

So when Arthur takes Mordred back to the Druids, Merlin goes with him. Iseldir greets them as “Emrys and The Once and Future King” They’re both confused, but obviously Arthur is the future king so Arthur asks who Iseldir thought Merlin was.

Iseldir reveals their destiny that Merlin is the god of magic. Merlin is silent and Arthur is so confused and hurt about why Merlin didn’t trust him.

Iseldir answers all of Arthur’s questions about destiny and the prophecy while Merlin doesn’t say a word. He takes it to mean Merlin is ashamed or something similar about the truth coming out, meanwhile Merlin is grappling with the fact that he supposedly isn’t human. After days of Arthur picking on him for “lying” and all the unintentionally cruel jibes, when Iseldir tries to say Merlin was blessed with his power and that it was something he should be grateful for.

Merlin breaks down in a Percy Jackson style “I’m not a god! There’s something wrong with me! I get that whatever I am isn’t supposed to happen, I know I’m a monster, believe me. I never even learned magic and every time I’ve tried to get rid of it, it’s almost killed me! So don’t tell me that this is a blessing, that this curse is something I should be happy about because it’s the reason I’ve spent every single day of my entire life terrified!” Then he stops for a second and the tears roll down his cheeks, “I’m sorry, but I’m not what you think I am. You need to find someone else to believe in.”

(Skip to the end for a happy ending, this is angsty. Warning for dark!Arthur and major character death)

Arthur thinks Merlin is lying and banishes him on the spot. Iseldir warns against it, but Merlin is just so tired so he doesn’t fight it. He’s left broken and believing he’s a monster, so be leaves to protect his friends.

Until a month or so later Arthur is on a hunt when he gets separated and lost, then injured by bandits. Merlin finds him, (he’s been sent off by the druids for failing this destiny he knew nothing about, in search of a solution but they’re not very forthcoming with information) and Merlin heals him. Then they get all the diamond of the day moments while Merlin is nursing Arthur back to health until he succumbs to infection.

Merlin gives his life for Arthur, knowing that he’ll be a good king. This leads Arthur to become really dark, he kills his father and takes over Camelot, welcoming magic but killing anyone with a different opinion. No one is safe, war breaks out and Camelot falls. When Arthur dies, young and during an uprising, he meets Merlin again in Avalon. Merlin doesn’t recognise Arthur with all he’s become, and Arthur is punished to watch all his people suffer with his old mind while watching Merlin continuously pushing him away because “he’s waiting for Arthur, he shouldn’t be alone when he gets here. He would’ve been a good king, he needs someone to take care of him now.” And it breaks Arthur’s heart to hear it every time.

That’s all I got so far, it could be that they’re both driven mad waiting, Arthur by watching his people and Merlin by waiting for a man he’s doomed to never recognise again. I’m not sure, I haven’t gotten that far.

Or for less angst, hurt/comfort where Arthur has to realise that Merlin is just as in the dark as he is, he really doesn’t know any of the questions Arthur had and he’s probably been looking for answers a lot longer. They work together to fix everything and while it’s difficult, Merlin still has issues with lying to protect his friends (intent/outcome issues) Arthur is too trusting still and they have to deal with Morgause and all the other threats but they overcome it together. Albion is united and they live happily ever after.

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