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bitsandbobsofwriting · 3 years

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Everyone cries (but only because they’re stupid), they go home, and Leon wins a lot of money :)

Merlin’s Angry Magic Reveal, part 5 (final part)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

TW: Lots of death again I suppose (you’ll see what I mean)

The gang watches on in amazement as Merlin calls lightening strike after lightening strike, seemingly unbothered by the chaos around him, and the power he was displaying.

Merlin really wasn’t kidding when he said they should be scared of him. Damn.

They worry for a moment, and Lancelot has to hold Arthur back, as they notice the first of the three enemy sorcerers step into their line of sight. But they calm quickly when they see Merlin look towards her and nod, before going back to the battle at hand. If he trusted her, then they would to.

Elyan points to her and shouts at everyone to keep a tight grip on the horses as they see the ground beginning to shake, the ripples in the mud heading towards them at an alarming pace.

“Brace yourselves!” is shouted by Leon moments before it reaches them, and all of them are thrown to the ground violently.

No one is injured, but they are dazed, and it takes them a few moments to right themselves again. The next time they look out, a frenzied blue fire is ripping into those closest to Merlin, and dissipating into the air around him.

Now with some space, it would appear that Merlin had taken inspiration from his new found friend, and the ground shakes even more violently than before (though this time much more contained, The Gang doesn’t feel even a small tremor where they stand).

Gwen speaks up quietly, but still loud enough that everyone can hear her over the shrieking:

“Gods above... how long has he been able to do that?”

Morgana answers her:

“The Druids don’t fuck around. They did say he would be The Most Powerful Warlock to Ever Walk the Earth, I guess we should’ve seen this coming.”

Everyone nods distractedly, but no one can tear their gaze from the scene in front of them. The ground snaps shut with one last rumble, over half the army having disappeared, and they see the remaining soldiers turn to flee.

Every one of them gasps in shock as vines burst from the ground, and begin to rip the deserters to shreds. None of them thought that Merlin was the type to kill someone who had their back turned, but like he said earlier... he was pissed.

Suddenly the battlefield is near empty, and silent. They’re distracted by the slight tilt of Merlin’s head, and the distant sounds of howling wolves (no doubt summoned to take care of the last few soldiers), so don’t see the frenzied King sneak up on him before it’s too late.

Arthur takes in a sudden breath when he notices and begins sprinting towards Merlin, no one holding him back this time.

The King of Camelot shouts his warning too late as the sword pierces Merlin’s back, and is forced with a shove out through his chest.

The sorcerers in front of him stare on in shock, too far away from Arthur for him to be paying them any attention.

He pulls his sword out as Merlin’s attacker stumbles back, and cuts him down without a thought, without looking away from Merlin for even a second.

He collapses on the floors behind his friend (could he really call him that after last night?) and begins to beg (begging who, he isn’t quite sure. Anyone that would listen, he supposes) :

“ No.... no no no, Come on Merls, don’t do this to me. You promised.”

He has to hold in a pained gasp as he turns Merlin over, and is struck with horror as he realises the exact resemblance to the vision from four days ago.

The blank stare of Merlin’s eyes, the blood from his mouth. All identical.

Arthur is so wrapped up in his shock, that he doesn’t notice The Gang finally catching up, and gathering around him.

Everyone is in shock, painful cries escaping them. Both at the death of their friend, and the sporadic breathing and sobs of Arthur.

Lancelot pushes to the front, and kneels on the other side of Merlin, taking his already cold hand in his own and whispering to himself (to Merlin) :

“Come on.... come on, Merlin. You can do it, you’re immortal remember. Come on.”

After what felt like forever, the forgotten sorcerers push through the crowd. Everyone is too shocked to notice the intrusion.

The girl takes in a deep breath, and whispers:

“Emrys...” before crouching next to Arthur, and tilting her head, as if waiting.

She looks up to her two companions, and they nod at her, seeming to all be agreeing on something. She swallows and looks back towards Merlin’s blank face, reaching towards the hilt of the sword at his spine.

Leon and Elyan jump into action, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her back:

“What are you doing?!” and “Don’t touch him!” are shouted simultaneously as they grip her, but she looks back in annoyance before replying sharply:

“I’m trying to help! How do you expect him to wake up with a great big bloody sword through his chest?”

This seems to get Arthur’s attention, and he looks up for the first time, eyes red and cheeks wet as he stares at her in confusion.

Her annoyance fades, and she gives him a soft look as she explains:

“He will be fine, I promise. But he won’t wake up if he’s just immediately going to die again. His body has to heal before his soul returns to it. We need to take it out.”

In Arthur’s state of shock and grief, it takes him a few moments to fully register what was said, but he shakes his head and looks back at her, before saying in a quiet, shaking voice:

“He’ll come back?”

All three of the sorcerers nod slowly understanding his grief, and the girl reaches for the hilt of the sword once again, slowly this time.

“Do it.” from Arthur prompts her to grip the metal, and pull it from Merlin’s body with a sickening squelch.

The whole gang grimaces as it come away slick with blood, and try not to look at the floor as the puddle around him begins to expand even quicker than before.

Everyone stares at Merlin with bated breath, waiting and hoping (well... the gang is hoping. The three helpers don’t seem too worried) for any sort of movement.

After what seemed like hours, Merlin’s eyes blink slowly, and he brings in half a shuddered breath before coughing violently, and rolling off of Arthur’s lap and onto the floor, onto his hands and knees.

The Gang stares in shock as their previously dead friend coughs and splutters, blood flying from his mouth, before he collapses down onto his back, clutching his chest:

“That bloody hurt.”

Gwaine is the first to begin laughing, not necessarily out of humour, but an adrenaline crash mixed with a no-longer-dead friend will do that to you sometimes.

Merlin stares up in confusion as everyone joins in, some hysterical (and probably still in shock), and some just quietly chucking at how stupid they’d been.

Percival is the first to catch his breath and speak:

“Are you telling me... that after all that worrying... we literally just had to pull the thing out of you, and you’d be fine again?”

Merlin shrugs as best he can from his position on the floor (made even harder by the fact that one of his hands was being gripped by Arthur, the other by Lancelot) and replies with a smirk:

“I guess so. I told you I’d be fine!”

Everyone shakes their heads in disbelief, and Lancelot stands, pulling Merlin and Arthur with him. Merlin is quickly engulfed in a tight group hug, the sorcerers having just managed to escape and standing off to the side, staring on in amusement.

Arthur is the last to pull away, and Merlin’s now free arms wrap around him without hesitation as he buries his head in his friend’s (?) neck:

“I told you. Nothing can keep me away from you... at least not for too long. Pull it out a little quicker next time, yeah?”

Arthur laughs quietly and pulls back, pressing his forehead against Merlin’s before quietly replying with a smile:

“Bold of you to assume I will ever allow this to happen again.”

It’s Merlin’s turn to laugh this time, and the both of them ignore the confusion on everyone else’s faces (as far as they were all concerned, that comment came unprompted out of nowhere).

Arthur coughs slightly and pulls back, his face flushed, seeming to remember that they were surrounded by their closest friends.

Merlin rolls his eyes before also stepping back, and giving Arthur a pointed look:

“Don’t look so embarrassed Arthur. I’m pretty sure this lot knew before we did.”

He doesn’t give Arthur time to reply, instead looking around at his friends with an exhausted, but shining smile on his face:

“Time to go home, I think.”

The journey back to Camelot is relaxed, and full of smiles. Arthur spends the whole journey glued to Merlin’s side, and Leon spends the whole journey with a self satisfied smirk on his face (if they get their act together at some point in the next 2 weeks, which Leon has absolute faith they will, then he wins a lot of money).

They had invited the three sorcerers to join them, but they declined, saying they had been missing a long time, and wanted to get home. The Gang provided them with some spare clothes, and helped them catch some of the enemy’s horses, (who had miraculously not run too far during the battle) before sending them on their way with an open invite to visit Camelot any time they would like.

They rush home, but they aren’t nearly as tense and desperate as they were on the way out, so it takes them an extra day to get there, not that any of them minded.

Once Merlin had gained a little of his strength back, he reached out to the Druids who remained in the city as advisors, so that the council could be updated on the state of things.

The people were told that the King and the Inner Council had been successful in their mission, and would be returning home within a few days, victorious.

The meeting they got at the gates to the city was astounding. Banners and flowers and declarations of celebration surrounded them all the way from the city walls, to the castle, and even the Council seemed in a good mood (a rare occurrence).

They were especially happy when Arthur dumped a dented crown, and a slashed and bloody cloak on the table, announcing that the opposition had no heir, and if they moved quickly, the neighbouring Kingdom would be absorbed into Camelot. Arthur, King by Conquest, had almost doubled the size of his kingdom.

He sent out half an army, along with Leon, Elyan, and Lancelot, within the week. They took medical supplies and food, as a show of good faith to the commoners. The first month or so would be spent clearing the kingdom of any supporters of the fallen king, and spreading compassion and help. Once that was complete, Arthur would go there personally, to greet his new people (and probably sign a lot of paperwork, but bleugh).

Merlin and Arthur are sitting back in their comfy chairs by the fire in Arthur’s chambers, when Arthur casually mentions gifting the new land to Merlin, and making him King. Or at least Lord.

Merlin looked at him indignantly, it had only been a few days since they got back, and they were both still exhausted, but he replied with such vigour that you would never have known that he’d died barely a week prior:

“Absolutely not. I don’t think I would make a good King, Arthur. And I don’t want it anyway. I’d be weeks away, and everyone I care about lives here. You can’t get rid of me that easily, especially not after such an emotional confession.” He raise an eyebrow and smirks as Arthur flushes, looking to his lap:

“Shut up.”

The conversation hadn’t been had yet, but neither felt awkward about it, they both knew the truth. After Merlin woke up again, it felt like time had reset, like once more they had all the time in the world. Neither of them are great at talking about their emotions, and both were prepared to wait until the moment seemed right, until they both had the right words.

Merlin laughs at Arthur, before absentmindedly reaching out a hand towards him. Arthur takes it without question, and looks back to Merlin, face serious, but loving:

“I meant it Merlin. I love you, with everything I have. I would give all of it up for you, the crown, Camelot, everything.”

Merlin smiles, blushing, and stands, pulling Arthur to stand with him.

They still grip hands, and stare into the blue of each others eyes as Merlin’s voice echoes in Arthur’s head:

“I love you too. I told you Arthur, this is where I belong, with you.”

Both of them ignore the tears gathering in their eyes as they lean forwards. They meet in the middle, in a slow kiss that has both of their hearts jumping.

Merlin wraps his arms around the King’s waist as Arthur lifts his hands up to rest against his Sorcerer’s chest, pulling at his collar slightly.

They pull away slowly, needing breath, but not willing to part as they once again find themselves resting their foreheads against each other:

“Merls, you'll stay, won’t you?”

Merlin responds without even a second of hesitation, a fond smile on his face:

“Forever.”

Leon gets his money (which Gwaine never stops grumbling about: “If they’d held off for two more weeks, I would’ve won!”) and is very smug about it.

As time passes, Morgana’s terrifying visions start to make more sense.

Gaius and Hunith did in fact cry... three years down the line when Arthur finally requested that the Druids perform one of their binding ceremonies on himself and Merlin, their closest friends and family as the only witnesses.

(There was, of course, a larger, more public celebration of their joining, but the private affair was the important one.)

The silver crown, forged by the Druids behind Merlin’s back (as a sort of... wedding gift, Arthur would say) was used a few days later in Merlin’s official crowning. Made to look like leaves and vines and flowers and berries, truly the most Druidic, magical, nature inspired crown anyone had ever set their eyes upon.

(Arthur thought that Merlin never looked better, more himself, than when he donned the crown. But Arthur would never say that out loud, Merlin was still shy at heart, and he didn’t want to discourage him from wearing it.)

The tombstone, they discovered, was the fallen King’s. He was cruel, and cowardly, but Arthur had honour, and had the crown and cloak washed and buried in his bloodline’s cemetery. Nothing fancy, just a stone and a name and two dates.

(For history’s sake. After learning the truth about magic, Arthur swore that he would never knowingly erase history, not even his own mistakes.)

The empty chambers were obvious in the end. It may have taken three years for them to be officially wed, but their rooms were down the corridor from one another... and Arthur had a nicer bed. It only took a week or so before they were sleeping besides one another every night, and who would argue against it? Arthur was King, and Merlin had once again saved the kingdom, they could bloody well do what they liked.

They never actually figured out specifically when Morgana saw nine of them sat at the table, looking blank. Merlin was so often late to meetings, leaving the rest of them to wait patiently (or not so patiently) for his arrival. It could have been any number of times over the years.

After all their fretting, the anxiety of the war and the worry for her friend had led Morgana down a grim path. Perhaps it was because she was looking for reasons to dissuade Merlin from going?

Whatever the cause, her and Merlin continue to work together to hone their crafts, Gwen supporting her every step of the way.

Now. Morgana and Gwen. They were a little more subtle about their relationship, but they also moved a little quicker, and were quietly bound to one another within a year of the Great Battle of Merlin’s BAMFness. Not that anyone was that surprised, mind you.

Speaking of Merlin’s BAMFness, there were definitely more shows of Merlin’s power once they got home. Despite being Court Sorcerer, Merlin was still affected by the years spent hiding and in fear (something that Arthur never quite forgave himself for), and never used his magic in public much, not if he could help it.

He used it for simple things, or when asked, but never would he allow himself to succumb to his emotions, positive or negative, and always kept tight control. The last thing he wanted to do, was accidently convince someone that magic was dangerous and evil and undo all the work he and Arthur had done.

Nowadays, after months of pestering by the gang (mainly Gwaine and Percival) to “show us something cool! Come on Merlin, you defeated an entire army, we know you can show us something cool!” , he was definitely more comfortable using his magic in every day situations.

Arthur was eternally grateful for that, he had done all he could, and he continued to support Merlin, but he knew that unless that validation came from elsewhere as well, Merlin would never be comfortable in his own skin.

BUT for now they have everything. Merthur is happy, Leon is smug, Morgwen is happy and smug, and the gang stays together, and happy, forever.

All because Merlin got depressed and angry and yelled at Arthur in the middle of the forest one day.

THE END

Actually the end this time. Might be a bit anti climactic, but happy ending are a little anti climactic sometimes, and that’s ok.

I have a bunch of drafts on the go but if you’ve got anything specific you want my take on, go for it ✌️

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fanfic-mind · 3 years

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Blood on my hands (all that i've gained and all that i've lost)

pairing: merthur

warnings: non

status: fanfic draft, Part 1/? (~ 2300)

It’s yet again an hour of need for Camelot. But the weapon they need to safe kingdom and people comes with a price. Only those who prove that they are powerful and wicked can receive it. The knights of Camelot don’t have enough evil deeds to be worthy of the sword. They think everything is lost - until Merlin speaks up...

A magic reveal story in which Merlin makes good use of being a morally grey character. Because, yea, Merlin-is-the-victim-reveals are swell and all but he is capable of making his own decisions and some of them are pretty shady. There is still a good amount of Uther bashing included.

Somehow they get into a situation that requires someone with blood on their hands - figuratively (otherwise it wouldn't be a problem because seeing how often Arthur and Merlin and also Gwaine get wounded by just existing they probably wouldn't even have to injure anyone)

Maybe a god of the Old Religion guards a weapon they need to kill the magic beast of the week or to destroy a cursed item.

In any case: they are really desperate. People are dying and this is their last hope, their last resort.

To their misfortune, this weapon is guarded by a very cunning and wicked god and they will only give their weapon to someone who has the power and the will to use it for evil deeds

There is a test that must be passed by the one who wants to receive the weapon. They must prove that they did enough evil deeds to be worthy of it.

Arthur quickly fails his test because despite some wrongs he's done he is way too just and noble to be wicked

The only knight that seems to get at least a few moments more of consideration is Leon who has done some terrible things - however under Uther's orders which isn't quite powerful enough

"Ahh, Uther Pendragon," the god muses, "Him i would have given the weapon. Such rage and blind hatred and, oh yes, so much blood."

Arthur grits his teeth and sets his jar. he wonders if his father would be disappointed in him for not living up to this legacy of his. he wonders - not for the first time - why he wanted to be like his father once and how he managed to end up being so different.

The knights discuss their strategy. non of them is wicked enough to pass the test. they have wicked people in Camelot's dungeons. But Camelot is three day rides off and their quest is really urgent.

They could separate and seek for wicked folk, but the chances seem slim and the risk of them keeping the weapon as they receive it seems too big

People are dying and they need to do something now.

"there must be another way to destroy it," Lancelot suggests, though they've been over this. His eyes stray to Merlin, but Merlin seems caught up in thought.

If there was an easier way to do this, Merlin and Gaius would have come up with it by now. asking the god had been their idea in the first place.

"What if there isn't?" Gwaine argues heatedly. "We can't have waisted six days for nothing. This is probably our last chance."

"so what do you suggest?" Lancelot interrupts somewhat irritated. They temperaments are heated at this point. And suddenly knowing each other’s worst deeds doesn’t exactly lighten the mood. "All of us failed the test. i wouldn't have thought that I'd ever be angry about being found too good and noble."

Gwaine shrugs with a grimace. He hadn't thought that he'd ever be deemed good and noble in the first place.

"maybe there's a way out of that," Arthur says. He hasn’t spoken in a while and all heads turn towards him.

"what do you mean, Sire?" Leon asks, looking uneasy as if he already knows and doesn't like it.

"If you're not noble enough, you proof your nobility by doing good deeds," Arthur starts matter of fact. "so, logically, if I'm not wicked enough, i prove my wickedness by doing an evil deed."

The god smiles a toothy smile.

"To murder just anyone obviously isn't evil enough" Arthur says, looking at the god with disgust. "so it must be somthing worse. murdering a friend, for example."

"My king, with all due respect, this is madness," Leon say carefully.

"sir Leon, that's the point." Arthur says sourly.

"is that really it?" Gwaine shouts at the god who watches his outburst unimpressed. "You want us to slaughter each other?"

the god laughs, distant and hollow and the earth seems to vibrate with it. "The weapon can only be taken by those of power who are wicked and cunning enough to wield it." the god repeats his earlier words.

"So there's not even a guarantee," Gwaine says, throwing up his arms. "Arthur, let's just leave and see if we can find something else."

"there is nothing else, Gwaine, you said so yourself!" Arthur returns. His expression is incredibly pained but determined in a way that makes them all shudder. Leon, Percival and Lancelot unconsciously get into fighting stance.

Gwaine takes a few steps to put himself between the king and Merlin who is the most vulnerable

Arthur nods to himself, seemingly coming to a decision in his head. Tehn he draws his sword . "If either of you kills me while i try to kill you, that might be enough too" he muses

They all stare at him in horror, unable to believe that he will go through with this.

"My people are dying," Arthur says, his tone pleading, "if i have to sacrifice my good conscience to help them - well, it is a price i must be willing to pay. I'm sorry. But all of you swore to protect Camelot at all costs too."

Arthur halts for am moment then nods grimly. "Don't try to sacrifice yourself. I'm sure that's not what he's looking for" Arthur nods towards the stony god who smiles.

"you can't be serious" Mordred whispers.

"I'm afraid i am. Now, it's been an honour. truely. and i hope - i hope I'll still have your respect afterwards. Though, i can understand if you can't trust me again."

"that's enough."

They all turn around. Partly, because they had forgotten about Merlin who has been uncharacteristically quiet the whole time. and partly because they have rarely heard this sort of tone from him. harsh and demanding. a voice more fit for a king than his manservant.

They stare at him and he makes short eye contact with Arthur before he steps forward, in front of the statue that the god is using as a vessel.

"test me." Merlin says. his voice is determined and his shoulders are set.

Arthur let's out a short laugh, because clearly this is absurd, right? Merlin is the best and kindest of all of them. Actually, coming to think of it, if he's really honest, Merlin probably is the reason Arthur is not like his father. Merlin makes him better. Merlin makes him want to be better.

A few of the knights share his sentiments, laughing slightly hysterical with tension but still perplexed over this development.

Only Lancelot steps forward with a frown as if to pull him back, but merlin raises a hand without looking at him and he stops in his tracks.

Arthur who was about to say something stops too.

The god looks more alive than before he seems to stretch himself to his full height as if he has waited for this

"welcome" he starts as he has with all of them. "young warlock, tell me your deeds."

lancelot tenses, casting a worried glance back at the king who stands there, sword still drawn, eyes fixed in Merlin as if he doesn't understand any of this

Lancelot doesn't either. Even if Merlin is a sorcerer - what evil deeds can he possibly have done? Saving Arthur's life over and over without ever seeking credit doesn't have a ring of evil to him.

"I am Merlin, and they call my Emrys." Merlin starts.

Some of the Knights gasp. Emrys is a name they know by now.

Lancelot wonders whether Merlin considers his identity an evil deed in itself. The possibility breaks his heart a bit.

"I was born with magic. I am the most powerful sorcerer there is."

Merlin takes a deep breath.

"i lied to all my friends. I let them think they can trust me, that they know me. But they never will. I could kill them just by looking at them. I am magic and i killed many behind friends backs and before their eyes, but never revealed myself to them"

"I am a slayer of my own people," he continues, his voice hard, "I killed many creatures and men of magic to protect their murderers - the king and his son. I did it out of self-righteousness and out of selfishness because...” for a moment, Merlin halts, but then he continuous with the same hard tone as before, as if something is forced out of him, but he wants to stand for it.

“I loved Arthur more than my own people. i let many of them die even though i could have helped them if i had revealed myself. But i couldn't bear the thought to be separated from him so i stayed quiet and watched them burn."

The god nods Merlin on. They all stand in shock. They know from before that Merlin won't be able to stop telling his deeds before the god thinks he is done.

"I killed the witch Nimueh even though she told me i have to pay with a life to save Arthur's. Instead of giving my life as i promised, i killed her."

"I killed Mary Collins, Afanc, Aulfric, Sophia, Cornelius Sigan, Myror and many more. "

Merlin's voice falters a bit, but he seems to pull himself together visibly, because his voice is clearer again when he keeps speaking.

"My betrayal to my people is so great, my wickedness so deep, i considered to kill a child on the mere possibility that he could threaten what was mine in the future."

Mordred makes a quiet stricken noise.

No one dares take their eyes off Merlin, but Merlin himself turns his head slowly.

There is a gasp of horror when they all see that his eyes are glowing yellow with magic.

Up until now, no one except Mordred and Lancelot had truly believed it.

"I tried to kill Mordred when he was a child and i wish his death even now though he is kind and serves Arthur."

Lancelot looks at Merlin with complete bewilderment as Mordred sobs.

Merlin doesn't answer Lancelot's gaze, he just turns around again.

They can hear him take in another breath and it sounds more halting than before.

"I knew that my friend had magic and i saw her turmoil and her fear of being killed. of being burned by her own kin like all of the others. but instead of helping her, i left her in the dark. I told her to trust me - she trusted my - and then i poisoned her."

Merlin stops for a moment, his voice sounds rough as if speaking becomes quickly more difficult.

"I gave Morgana poison in full intend and watched her as she died and i regretted when she was healed."

"Only i had the power and knowledge to save her, but i turned my head from her suffering, i killed her when she didn't know better than to turn to her sister, it was me that made her what she is today."

There is another short pause. Lancelot is desperate to see Merlin's face. To demand how this all really went. Because though he knows that Merlin is bound to say the truth by the power of the god, he still thinks there must be a mistake or a trick. This is not Merlin. Merlin would never...would he?

"I conspired with and freed the dragon that attacked Camelot which led to the death of many innocent people. I attempted to kill Arthur on multiple occasions."

Lancelot frowns. This one he knows to be untrue. Merlin didn't want to kill Arthur. it was Morgana's doing that he went after him.

"i saved Uther Pendragon's life - more than once. I let him live even though he slaughtered my people. I saved his life even though i didn't have to. I never killed him even though i had many opportunities."

Merlin pauses then, looking up at the god.

"Do i really need to go on?" he asks and it sounds almost indifferent. except they know Merlin and they know how his face looks when he sounds this way.

The god leans their head to one side slowly. the stone his vessel is made of groans.

"You are worthy, young warlock. More than you know. Into your hands i command my sword."

Suddenly, there is noise and light and they cover their eyes, everyone except for Merlin and Mordred.

They can't be sure but they think they can hear Merlin's voice through it all, speaking a foreign tongue. Then, it's over.

When the air clears, Merlin stands alone, the stone vessel of the god has crumbled to pieces, a big sword in his hand. For just a moment, when he turns around to face them, he looks nothing like Merlin at all. His eyes are golden, and his face is grim, lips pressed into a thin line. His posture is straight and majestic and he holds the sword like a warrior. His appearance strikes them with fear. He looks like power incarnate.

The others notice from the corners of their eyes that Mordred kneels before him. and even as they are completely bewildered, they have an urge to do the same.

The next moment though, it's all gone, and Merlin looks like he's never handled a sword before. His eyes are blue and his cheeks messy with dust and tears. He sinks to his knees and the weapon falls from his hands - is pushed from his fingers as if through magic, landing on the ground with a strange sound.

Merlin looks after the sword with disgust clear on his face. Then he looks up and suddenly he looks afraid.

To be continued

#merthur #magic reveal #merlin fanfic #merlin x arthur #merlin

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sweetcherrypie1967 · 3 years

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Sweet Tooth

Now to anyone else this wouldn't be a big deal but to those that knew her, they knew she wasn't one to get very confused. After all, they don't call her the brightest witch of her age for nothing. She was always trying to find a logical explanation for everything she encountered and dealt with it accordingly.

But this had her stumped.

Every week her parents would send many sweets to her to share with her friends. While they were dentists and protested excessive amounts of candy, they trusted she was responsible enough not to use them in excessive amounts. They also knew that Hermione's friends enjoyed sweets very much so they felt no guilt in sending so much. It was a sweet gesture that Hermione looked forwards to every week but this week, however, she had put the sweets in a bowl in the Heads Common Room so that others were free to have some and the next morning they were gone.

She hadn't even had any of her friends in the Common Room since putting this week's batch there. So where could it have gone?

Hermione was contemplating this staring at the empty bowl when the Head Boy came out from his room. His blond hair still wet from just taking a shower as he cheerfully bounded down the steps.

"Good morning Hermione," Draco Malfoy said.

"Good morning, Draco," she said, "you wouldn't happen to know what happened to the sweets my parents sent me, would you?"

He paused mid-stride, looked at the empty bowl and pretended to think hard. "Nope, not a clue," Draco said shrugging before continuing in the room with a spring in his step.

It was a shock to Hermione when she found out that she would have to share the Head Dorms with Draco. It really did make sense why he was chosen as Head Boy, so she shouldn't have been surprised. He was second only to her in their year and earned the position just as much as she did. Hermione was so worried about it that she almost went to McGonagall on the verge of asking to be demoted to Prefect. The more she thought about it though, the she decided that she'd worked too long and hard to get to be the Head Girl so she wasn't going to give it up so easily. So, they put up with each other as neither was willing to back down and they eventually became somewhat friends.

"Well you seem to be in an awfully good mood today," Hermione commented

"You're right, as usual. I am in a fantastic mood today," Draco said plopping down on one of the couches by the fireplace.

"May I ask why?" Hermione said amused. While she did find him a lot more pleasant to be around, it was still rare to catch him in a particularly good mood.

"Because, dearest Hermione, today is the day that I am going to ask out that girl I told you about to Hogsmeade this weekend," he said grinning.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Hermione said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.

As they were getting closer and trusting each other more, Draco confided -or more like Hermione caught on and he confessed- that he had a secret crush on some mystery girl. He went on about how beautiful and smart and wonderful she was, though Draco refused to reveal her identity. At first Hermione was excited that he was trusting her enough to tell her something so personal, but couldn't help feeling a pang in her chest. She hadn't the slightest idea why until a few weeks ago while talking to her good friend Ginny Weasley.

Hermione has her own crush on the blond boy.

Still, she wouldn't allow it to show, he obviously didn't feel the same as he was so occupied by this other woman. And why should I even hope for anything else? Just because we're friends now doesn't change that he's Draco Malfoy and she's Hermione Granger, they'd never work..

..could they?

"Hey? Hermione?" Draco said bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Hm? Oh sorry, what were you saying?" Hermione said embarrassed.

"I was asking if you were alright, you kinda zoned out there," he said with a charming smile that made her melt.

"Yeah I'm alright, just lost in thought I guess," she explained.

"Ok," Draco said before launching into all his different ideas of where to take this mystery girl. Hermione listened while secretly picturing him and herself going to do these activities, even if she knew they were never going to happen. "I don't know, Hermione..maybe I'm getting my hopes too high," he said sadly.

This snapped her back to reality. Draco Malfoy, aka sexiest boy at Hogwarts, worried about some girl rejecting him? She didn't know whether to be proud he wasn't being too egotistical or worried he's gone mad.

"You're not ill, are you?" Hermione teased.

"I mean it, Hermione. What if she says no?" He worried.

"Where's that Malfoy confidence of yours? Of course she'll say yes," she told him encouragingly.

"I don't know...after all I've done? Me and her haven't had the best track record, I wouldn't blame her," Draco said looking at the fire.

"Draco Malfoy, do you care for this girl?" Hermione asked.

"I think I made that pretty clear," he said rolling his eyes.

"Yes or no," she said bossily.

"Yes," Draco laughed.

"Do you think you could fall for her?" She asked.

Draco looked at her for a moment and thought about what she was asking. "Yes," he said honestly.

"Then that's all that matters. If she rejects you then that just means she isn't the one who's meant for you, you have proven that you've changed time and time again this year so if she can't see that then thats her loss," Hermione said firmly, "besides, would you rather go on without knowing how she'd answer? Without being able to say you tried?"

"You're right, as always. I'm being silly aren't I?" Draco said cracking a smile.

"Yes, yes you are," she told him to which they both laughed.

There was a part of Hermione that selfishly wished this mystery girl would reject to his offer but another that wished she would agree, just so Hermione can see him happy. Only time could tell.

"So when are you going to tell me who this girl is?" Hermione asked him.

"After I ask her," he promised with a twinkle in his eye.

"And when when will you be asking her?" Hermione asked.

"Not telling," Draco said.

****

It was dinnertime in the Great Hall. Hermione was sitting at the Gryffindor table with Harry Potter along with Ron and Ginny Weasley while Draco was sitting at the Slytherin table with Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, and Daphne Greengrass. He's been fiddling with his hands nervously the entire time, too anxious to eat anything.

"C'mon mate, why are you so worried? Who in Merlin's name would reject you?" Theo said.

"Any girl that's got a brain," Blaise teased to which Daphne elbowed him, "ouch!..bloody woman...I mean, yeah what he said."

"Really Draco, could you at least tell us who she is? It might be easier for us to help if we knew," Daphne urged.

"No, you'll find out soon enough. I don't need help I..just need a minute," Draco assured his closest friends.

"Dinner will be over soon, you'd better make it fast. Especially if you want to get something to eat," Blaise said.

"Yeah, ok. Here I go," Draco said more to himself than anyone else before standing up and striding across the Great Hall.

Right to the Gryffindor table.

He shook his head as if to rid himself of his nerves and show his famous Malfoy confidence as he got closer. As he approached, Draco could feel all the eyes on him but he paid them no mind.

Not until her eyes were on him.

Draco sat down next to her as if he did it everyday, and he had done this on occasion throughout the current year.

"Hey Hermione, you remember that girl I was telling you about?" Draco asked, knowing everyone within earshot would be listening.

"Yes..oh! Did you ask her? What did she say?" Hermione asked intrigued.

"No actually, I haven't asked her yet," Draco told her, "I'm kinda getting to that."

"You'd better hurry if you want to do it today," Hermione said.

"Yeah, I should," Draco agreed. Hermione went back to her food, expecting him to go off and ask the girl, not wanting to see what would happen.

"Hermione," Draco said trying to regain her attention.

"Yeah?" She said not looking up.

He gently put his hand on her chin and tilted her head to look at him. "Would you like to go with me to Hogsmeade this weekend?" He asked.

"But I thought you were going with that mystery girl?" She said not piecing it together.

Draco sighed dramatically, "for the brightest witch of our age, you really can be . You're the mystery girl. I'm asking you on a date to Hogsmeade."

Her mouth dropped, along with almost everyone else's. Everyone else was still getting used to the idea of Hermione and Draco being friends and now he was asking her on a date?

"Oh! Yes, yes of course!" Hermione said excitedly before crushing him in a hug.

Draco laughed, "and by the way, it was me who ate the candy from your parents," he admitted in a whisper.

"It was you?" She exclaimed but somehow managed to keep the same volume.

"Yes, but don't worry I'll make it up to you," he promised.

And Draco did just that. The first activity the two did together in Hogsmeade was go straight to Honeydukes and let Hermione pick out all the sweets she desired. Draco, of course, picked out many as well for himself and paid for all of it.

"Draco Malfoy, how many sweets did you buy? The whole shop?" Hermione said surprised.

"What can I say? I guess you could say I've got a sweet tooth," Draco told her.

"That's an understatement," Hermione laughed.

They spend the rest of the day doing various things around the small town. Draco took her to a bookshop, the Three Broomsticks and anywhere else she wanted. Back in their Common Room they ate and exchanged their sweets while talking about their day.

All was well.

#dramione #harry potter #dhr #draco malfoy #draco x hermione #hermione granger #dhr fanfiction #dramione imagines #dramione drabbles

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slytherinnbitch · 3 years

Text

Prompt #10

Prompt #10- Secret Relationship

Pairing- Pansmione

Background- Hogwarts Sixth Year. They’ve been dating for the past four months now. Drarry are also dating (not relevant but there is no way, Harry and Ginny are dating so deal with it. This may not follow much cannon because I read the books eons ago and mostly depend on ff nowadays.

Thank you for submission <3

..............................................................................

“Parkinson, what are you doing?” Hermione asks as soon as she is cornered in the middle of an empty corridor by Pansy Parkinson.

“Oh you know? Just kissing my beautiful girlfriend.” she says haughtily as she presses her own lips to Hermione’s in a whisper of a kiss.

“Girlfriend? And yours? Never!” she laughs and presses her lips more fiercely to hers, “But seriously, what are you doing? We talked about this babe.”

She attacks her jaw and throat next, leaving small kisses all over making Hermione almost forget what she was saying. “I just....I was just--ugh why is this so hard!” Pansy closes her eyes before rushing out the words, “I was bloody jealous of our best friends, alright?”

“Jealous? Darling, I’m sorry but I don’t think I get you.” She pulls away and looks down at her girlfriend.

“It’s just they are out and we are not and it’s my fucking fault because I'm such a coward that I can't even--" She is cut-off by Hermione who firmly places her hand over her mouth to stop her from speaking and it absurdly works.

"Now, love. You listen to me okay? And listen properly. It is not your fault anyhow that we aren't out. It's my decision as much as it is your decision so just don't. And so what Harry is out about his relationship and we are not? How does it effect us if the public whom we don't even care about knows or not? We know and that's enough. Don't you agree?" She says it such a way that Pansy is left absolutely stunned, so she just stares at her lovely, caring and such understanding girlfriend in complete silence; searching her face for any kind of emotion that would betray her words but she finds none. Hermione Granger is as genuine as the words she just said.

It makes Pansy want to kiss her silly until she forgets everything but her, unfortunately for them she hears footsteps coming from the end of the hall and they hastily scurry away to one of the secret passages Hermione told Pansy about. She had gotten to know about it from Harry's map and she was very grateful for the map nowadays if she was being completely honest.

"That was close." Pansy says but she is grinning so Hermione can't help but join her.

"It was your fault!" She says and is immediately silenced by a deliberate kiss.

"Was not." Pansy says, knowing full well that it was.

"Distraction by kisses is cheating!" Hermione says.

"You love it though."

"That I do" She says and they forget about everything around them for the next hour or so, except each other.

.............................

"I want to come out." Pansy says, three days after their corridor incident. They are sitting in the library studying together. It's perfectly fine because now that their friends are dating, they are being 'civil' to one another and studying in the library is just that. Also they aren't particularly alone, it's just that Draco had disappeared almost an hour ago with Harry following him just a second afterwards.

"Are you....are you sure, babe? You know you don't need to." Hermione asks tentatively, she wants to come out, wants to show their relationship to the world and how much she loves, yes loves Pansy Parkinson but to her Pansy's comfort comes way before that so she supports her without even a second thought. They'll get there one day, she knows that so she doesn't give much thought to it if she can help it.

"Completely. I've given it quite a lot of thought and I think I'm ready to do it. Atleast to our friends, I'm not sure about the whole school though."

"That's completely fine. Why don't we do this, we tell our friends and don't actively show or hide our relationship from the rest of the school?" Hermione asks, hoping that she doesn't sound much eager.

"That's a amazing idea, Mione! This is why I love you so much." Hermione blushes at that but focuses back on her homework. She knows they haven't discussed a how or when but that can wait until later. She is just happy that they are going to do it soon!

Harry and Draco arrive a few minutes later, with flushed cheeks and red lips, "So did you guys have a nice time studying alone?" Pansy asks as they sit down.

"Shut up, Parks" Harry says, he has taken up making a nickname out of Pansy's last name because calling her first was too weird to him. To be honest, Hermione likes it suits a lot.

"Did you not have a great time studying, Pans?" Draco counters back and Hermione doesn't even date look at him. She is sure she will reveal much more than she wants.

Pansy just looks shell shocked at Draco before responding, "It's not like I have a boyfriend to do studying with, do I?"

"Why Pans, you've Hermione right here. Topper of our class and probable future Ministress of Magic with you. You won't need anyone else would you?" Hermione is sure that Draco knows. How? She doesn't know but he does. It is quite clear or maybe he just suspects.

She looks up at Harry who is looking back and forth between Draco and Pansy, trying to decipher in between the lines, his gaze moves to Hermione, questioning her silently. She just shrugs and Harry buys it and shrugs himself before grudgingly getting back to his own homework.

............

"I like to say something." Pansy says after all their friends have come. They are sitting in the Room of Requirement, called there upon Pansy and Hermione's request.

Hermione looks around the room, Blaise looks bored , Draco appears weirdly smug as if he knows what's coming, after the library thing she suspects he does. Harry is looking intently at Pansy while Ron looks uncomfortable being here and being addressed by Pansy like this. Nott has a neutral expression as he stares at Pansy, Neville keeps fidgeting in his seat while Luna looks calm and Ginny is basically grinning like a cat at Hermione and Pansy at turns. Quite a group they have.

"Please continue." Draco tells her and smirks slightly at her.

"Yeah so I'm gay." She states bluntly.

"No you're not." It's Luna who speaks up and every one collectively looks at her. What is she saying?

"You're a lesbian, not gay." She explains and she breathes out in relief. She doesn't know what she would have done if Luna had just refused to recognise her as ..... herself?

"Yeah okay, that." Pansy agrees.

"Yeah we already know that, Pans. What is the news though?" Nott asks.

"What do you mean that you already know?"

"Everyone does, but this just can't be you coming out?" Blaise says matter-of-factly.

"Oh it's not. Just wait." Draco quips in, clearly enjoying this way too much.

The Gryffindors are weirdly silent through all of it, as she supposes she would have been as well if any other Slytherin would have just called them all to just come out to them, might even be a bit awkward.

Pansy just looks at her, silently asking her to take the lead from there. Which she does, "So....the thing is...."

She has no idea where her Gryffindor courage has suddenly vanished but she can't speak, not infront of all her friends. The what ifs suddenly come to her mind and she tries her best to keep them at bay. She looks at all them, looking expectantly at her. She has addressed so many people before but somehow this just feels so different. She glances at Pansy who gives her a sma bit encouraging smile.

She takes a deep breath and continues, going the straightforward way just like Pansy, "We are dating."

There is long deafening silence as everyone soakes in the news. She looks at their faces and finds identical yet different expressions. They all looked either shocked or surprised all on different levels, while Draco and surprisingly, Luna just smile at them. Although Draco's is a lot more smug.

"We are so happy for you guys," Luna breaks the silence as she gets up to hug them both, "Thank you for trusting us enough and being brave enough to come out."

After that, it's all smiles and jokes and teasing, except Harry who looks strange.

She mentally notes to ask him later, but for now she just enjoys sitting next to Pansy and being able to kiss her without any hindrance.

........

"Haz...." Harry looks up from his broom which he is polishing for the last half an hour.

"Yes, Mione?"

"Are you alright, you know with me and Pansy?"

"Yes of course. I'm really happy that you found someone who makes you happy, she makes you happy, right?"

"Immensely."

"Why do you ask then?"

"You looked strange when I told all of you this morning."

"Oh that! It's nothing to do with you, Mione. Draco has been leaving me clues about you both which I wasn't able to get and they all just suddenly clicked in place and I realized how oblivious of me to not notice. The all the time studying in the library, coming to class late and even skipping class-"

"That was one time!" She injects.

"One time of Hermione Topper Granger not attending class is enough for me."

She smiles fondly at him, relieved that he is okay about it. He is one of her best friends after all and his opinions matters greatly to her.

"So we good?"

"Absolutely!" He answers and hugs her tightly, "No matter what, you'll obviously be my best friend. Nothing would be changing that, Mione."

His words are whispered into her hair, but she knows Harry means them and she feels the same so she just hugs him back and thanks Merlin for giving her someone as Harry as her best friend.

#hermione granger #harry potter #hogwarts #ron wealsey #draco malfoy #pansy x hermione #pansmione #pansmione au #blaise zabini #theodore nott #luna lovegood #ginny weasley #hogwarts sixth year #love #lesbians #coming out #secret relationship

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aty-altiria · 4 years

Text

Law/Holly pre-relationship

One-shot’s are hard, so I give you... practice pulled from Whump prompts I found online. Hazzah?

PS: does anyone want to see the Ace/Holly soulmate one-shot and the Tenth Doctor/Holly I also practiced with?

Holly was sitting on the grass of Sunny’s deck when a layer of blue film expanded across the deck steadily enveloping the ship. Brow’s furrowing Holly glanced up as the white pages of her book changed into a familiar color. Aware of what the film was, Holly saved her place with a bookmark and stuffed the hefty tome into her bottomless pocket. Holly pushed to her feet, cast her eyes toward the shore, and scanned it for a familiar bloodied figure. After a moment, a nearly silent pop echoed toward the left, and Holly started toward the ship kitchens where it had sounded.

At the current moment, Holly was the only one actively on the ship. The rest of the crew had elected to embark and explore the black market on the island they’d docked at. They all had something they wanted to buy or, like Luffy, thought they’d find adventure - and no one was going to stop Luffy from wandering a new place. Holly personally had elected to remain behind, she embraced the brief moment of comfort the crew had offered her. After all, it was challenging to find a single moment of quiet study as a Straw-hat pirate. She had found it, for a brief time until Trafalgar Law appeared again.

Opening the doors to the kitchen Holly’s attention settled on the collapsed form in the middle of the room and internally sighed. Why was it that the Straw-Hat’s couldn’t meet Law without him being injured? Was the man cursed like she was?

“Law?” she called, closing the door behind her, “do I need to worry about pursuit?”

The man grunted. He had his entire weight on the kitchen island, and his eyes were clamped closed in pain. As she approached, Law forced one eye open to catch a glimpse of her. Their eyes met, and he closed them again. He was, she assumed, assuring himself of her identity with that look, and Holly offered his back a fond smile. Law to this day preached that pirate allies shouldn’t trust each other. Yet he was the one who, without hesitation, ran toward them when he got injured. It was clear that Law believed in their crew enough to reveal his weaknesses to them and put his vulnerable and sometimes unconscious form in their hands.

Clearly, his preaching had little substance, but then, they were an odd crew.

Holly stopped at Law’s side and gently pressed a hand to his arm, “sit down before you collapse.” She nudged at him; however, Law shook his head.

“I’m fine… just needed a rest.”

Holly hummed unconvinced, “you didn’t answer my question.” She man-handled him slightly, nudged him around until she got his back to the island and his chest toward her. Then she took stock of his injuries; Chopper was faster and better at this than her, but Holly had her own skills when it came to healing. That and she cheated according to every doctor she’d ever met. “Are you being pursued?”

“Y- shi- careful Potter! Yes…” he winced as she accidentally prodded at one of his injuries. Holly gave him an apologetic look even though she had succeeded at getting him in the chair. Though that was mostly because he’d collapsed, legs unable to hold him any longer.

“Okay.” Holly flicked her hands to the side and shot out a Patronus… funny how it was a monkey now, Luffy really had earned her affection with his firm offer of freedom. The monkey hopped around slightly before it took her message, a mild warning that Law had shown up injured, and shot off to warn each member of the crew. That done, Holly fished a hand in her pocket and summoned a pair of vials into her hands. “Pain potion and blood-replenisher, you know the drill.”

Like she’d said, Law was around often and always injured.

And he did know the drill. Law took the vials without much fuss and downed them. His face scrunched at the taste, but he didn’t complain; too used to it, she supposed. “You should leave this island-”

“Oh please-” Holly reached up and placed a hand at his chin to tilt his head toward the light. There was… why were his eyes glassy? “-You’ve been around long enough to know Luffy won’t do that. His interest in this island will only be increased by this.” Not to mention, they all felt incredibly protective of Law by then. A side-effect of how many times they’d saved his, rather nice, arse. “Law, can you see me?”

He nodded even as his body swayed dangerously. He nearly fell off the chair, his arm coming up to slow to catch himself. Holly swiftly moved to brace Law before he did, and his head lulled, falling into her shoulder. Law dropped his full weight on her panting, but he wasn’t warm… so what was happening?

“Law?”

He took in a shaking breath, and his hand came up to press fiercely at his right eye. Then, Law swore. “Think they… fuck- drugged me… airborne-” oh Merlin, and she’d probably just made it worse with her potions. Bugger-

“Hold on, one second- I’ve got you,” Holly wrapped her arms around Law’s upper body, and she gently escorted him to the floor. Already, and that was only a manner of seconds, Law’s body was completely limp, but he was still awake. His eyes flickered to her while unable could no longer move his body. Holly swore when she caught the pure panic in his gaze as he breath came shallower and shallower. “Hold on, hold on, I’ve got you Law.”

He was dying- what was this? It was acting so quickly-

Holly pulled out her wand, preferring to use it for such delicate work, then she pressed the tip to his stomach and pulled it in a slow, steady motion upward. She ran the tip of her wand upward, moving across his lungs, throat, and mouth. Law choked as she did, coughing violently as a thick, almost dust-like substance escaped his mouth. Holly quickly repeated her action, from stomach to chest, to throat, and mouth. She was basically forcing her magic to make him ‘throw up’ the substance in his lungs. It was brutal, likely excruciating, but ultimately effective.

Law gasped grabbing at his throat as he regained the use in his arms, he groaned and whimpered, but he never protested. He let Holly work until whatever the drug was, was wholly pulled from his body. And as she worked, his gaze locked on hers. Law sought her out, tracked her motions, and trusted her to save him.

It couldn’t have been five minutes later that nothing came out, and Holly cut the spell off. Law sagged at once, curling up with a groan.

“Sorry,” Holly stashed her word, tone apologetic, “it’s painful… but it works, and its the fastest way to get that crap out of you.” Law shook his head between his knees to wave her off. He understood, his devil-fruit wasn’t exactly painless either, Law knew sacrifices had to be made for health sometimes.

“It’s fine… thanks, Potter-san.” Law wasn’t stupid. If he hadn’t decided to use Room to access the Straw-hat ship… if Holly hadn’t decided to stay behind that afternoon, the crew would have returned to his corpse.

Holly clicked her teeth displeased in an instant. She hated the habit of this world. Everyone who called her Potter brutally reminded her of Draco Malfoy and the pure-bloods using her last name in ‘respectful insult.’ “you can call me Holly, you know, we’ve known each other for years.”

Law shrugged slightly as he finally lifted his head and glanced her way with a slow smirk growing on his face, “as you’ve said.”

“And one day you’ll listen to me… now, anything else bothering you? Do try not to leave anything out. I can only help what I know about, as you’ve said.”

Law shook his head, “I’m fine,”

“Liar.”

He made a face at her, “I’m fine, thank you… Potter-san.”

“Law I swear to Merlin-” he laughed at her, enjoying being able to tease at least one Straw-hat pirate. Holly made it easy too, she was easily riled up, and he took full advantage. Holly, at the same time, felt herself relax, his voice was rasping because of the spell, but he was breathing much more comfortable now. Law would be fine.

She’d get to look at his nice arse another day.

“Ah.” Holly paused and tilted her head to the side, “pause that thought. I think your pursuit finally caught up.” As she said it, she felt her ward on Sunny’s deck flex as unknowns landed on her deck. “Wait here, I have some questions for them.”

“Don’t forget the gas,” Law reminded her gently as he dropped his back to the kitchen island.

“Oh, I won’t.”

A bubble-head charm spell would be most useful for this particular conversation. Like Holly said, the Straw-hat’s were defensive of Trafalgar Law, and these morons had just stupidly entered her territory after harming him.

#One Piece #Harry Potter #fem harry potter #Trafalgar Law #Harry/Law #fanfiction #whump #one shot #mine

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malenkayacherepakha · 5 years

Text

A Wedding To Remember

Harry/Ginny | T | 1.5k | Read on AO3

A conversation on the Harry and Ginny discord suggested that if the Muggle Prime Minister knew about the wizarding world, then the Royal Family probably did too. This fic is the result.

Harry and Ginny attend the Royal Wedding

~~~

When Ginny rounded the corner into their living room, Harry was standing by the fireplace, his back half turned to the door as he fiddled with his tie. Ginny knew Harry was uncomfortable in his Muggle morning suit, so different from the dress robes he usually wore when he had to attend formal events at the Ministry. When he’d first bought the suit he’d complained about it feeling strange and uncomfortable, the tie too tight around his neck and the long tails of the coat too unwieldy. Ginny had thought he had come around to the suit though, after modelling it for her had ended up with her demonstrating exactly how much she liked what the trousers did to his bum.

‘How do I look?’ Ginny said, stepping in to the room fully and jolting Harry out of whatever deep thoughts he’d been having. When he turned around she could see how red his lips were, nearly bitten through from his nervous habit of chewing his lip.

‘Wow,’ Harry said, eyes roving up and down Ginny’s body. ‘You look incredible.’

‘Do you think it’s alright?’ Ginny said, smoothing down the material of her dark blue dress. ‘I have no idea what I’m supposed to wear to this sort of thing.’

Buying the dress had been an ordeal - Ginny was firmly a jeans and trainers kind of person, and the few cocktail dresses she owned for League functions weren’t fancy enough for a royal wedding. After hours of trawling shops in Muggle London, she’d finally found the one, a long navy blue dress that at first glance appeared modest, but in fact had a slit that revealed a toned, athletic leg when she walked. She hadn’t expected to feel so comfortable in it, but now that her hair and makeup were done, it felt right, and it fit her like a glove.

‘It’s more than alright,’ Harry replied, moving forwards and stroking the silky material, letting it slide between his fingers. ‘No one’s going to be looking at the bride with you dressed like that.’

Read the rest on AO3 or below the cut

‘Oh, shush, Harry,’ Ginny smiled, adjusting her fascinator in the mirror before holding out her hand to her husband, their fingers interlinking. ‘You’re one to talk anyway, you look amazing.’

Harry did indeed look wonderful in his suit, the waistcoat tightly fitted and showing off his trim figure, the black morning coat emphasising his broad shoulders, honed from years of physical Auror work. Ginny knew Harry didn’t like dressing formally, but Merlin, she loved it when he did, her pulse kicking up a gear and her face heating as she looked at him. She wanted nothing more than to strip that suit right back off Harry, but she would have to restrain herself until later to show Harry the effect the suit was having on her, as a beep outside signalled the arrival of their taxi.

The abbey was beautiful, the flowers and trees lining the aisle giving off a delightful scent, quiet classical music just audible over the excited chatter of the guests. Harry had led Ginny to two seats near the back of the church, as he always did when they were in a crowd. He never said anything about it, but Ginny knew he was still nervous in big crowds and liked to be near an exit, or sat somewhere where he had a good view of what was going on. Even now, with all the Muggle policemen everywhere, Ginny could see his eyes darting around the church, scanning for potential threats, the war habits hard to break. His nerves were written everywhere on his body, from the frown on his face to the tension he was holding in his body, his shoulders stiff and his right leg jiggling up and down, making Ginny’s chair shake. Reaching over, Ginny took his hand in hers, her thumb starting to slowly stroke across the skin on the back of his hand, over the faint lines that still remained from his detentions with Umbridge. As Ginny stroked, Harry let out a deep breath, turning to give her a small smile, some of the tension melting from his shoulders. Ginny smiled back, and leaned over to drop a kiss on his shoulder, her heart warming at the thought that she was still able to help him with just a simple touch.

The background music faded, the conversations around them quieting as it did so, and then they were being asked to stand for the entrance of the Queen, followed by the bride, the organ music swelling as Kate and her bridesmaids appeared in the doorway. Harry’s arm came to wrap tightly around Ginny as they watched Kate walk down the aisle towards a smiling William, and Ginny couldn’t help the tears that welled up in her eyes as she watched. It was such a special moment, and she found herself thinking back to her own wedding, to the rush of emotions that had overcome her as she walked down the aisle towards Harry in the Burrow’s garden. She hoped that William and Kate would be as happy as she was with Harry.

The wedding ceremony was long but lovely, the rafters filling with the sound of thousands of voices during the hymns, Kate and William beaming at each other as they processed back up the aisle and out onto the steps of the abbey to the cheers of the crowd outside. Once the Royals had left, Ginny and Harry gradually made their way out of the church and into the cars waiting to take them to Buckingham Palace. The crowds lining the street were endless, thousands upon thousands of people waving flags and celebrating, peering into every car to try and catch a glimpse of a celebrity.

‘Puts our fame into perspective a bit, huh?’ Ginny laughed as she and Harry were whisked down the blocked off streets to the Palace.

‘Thank god our wedding wasn’t like this,’ Harry said, shuddering in mock disgust.

‘I guess saving the world just isn’t as impressive as being born a prince,’ Ginny teased, earning her a poke under the ribs from Harry in response.

The opulence that greeted them when they entered Buckingham Palace was almost hard to comprehend, and even as they ate their delicious five course meal Ginny kept craning her neck to take in all the intricate details of the huge dining room they were in. A glass of wine had helped relax Harry even further, and once he realised that no one apart from the Royal family were aware of his identity, he became even less tense, happily chatting to the RAF officer who was seated next to him.

The afternoon passed pleasantly, Ginny enjoying the cocktails that flowed plentifully from the free bar as she revelled in the anonymity that she so rarely got to experience anymore. It was lovely, being able to truly relax at an event without having to worry that someone was sneakily trying to take a photo of her ready for the Prophet to publish the next day alongside an article claiming that a photo of her talking to a man other than Harry meant that she was actually involved in a steamy affair.

As the evening wore on, the celebrations grew more and more relaxed, the traditional formalities over, people beginning to drink more as the music and dancing started. Ginny found herself standing at the edge of the dancefloor, leaning back into Harry’s broad chest as he rested his chin on the top of her head, her fascinator long discarded, watching Will and Kate dance to Ellie Goulding, the love on their faces so deep that Ginny almost felt as though she should look away and leave them to their private moment. Harry’s hands were slowly stroking up and down her exposed arms as they silently watched the dancing couple, a shiver of pleasure running up her spine at the feel of his rough hands on her skin. The feel of his hands on her, combined with the nostalgia she was feeling for their own wedding day, had desire building in her stomach, and soon she couldn’t take it any longer.

‘Harry,’ she murmured, twisting around in his arms so that they were facing each other, her head tilted up as she whispered in his ear.

‘Yes?’ Harry replied quietly, pulling her in tighter, her body pressed against the hard planes of his chest, his interest unmistakable.

‘Mum’s got the kids for the rest of the night…’ she said slowly, one hand reaching up to stroke his cheek, the dark stubble he could never quite get rid of rough under her fingertips. ‘Are you that bothered about the party or do you fancy-’

‘Let’s go,’ Harry interrupted, knowing as always exactly what she was thinking. With his arm still tight around her waist, they slipped out through the crowd, leaving Will and Kate to dance in peace, slinking into the darkness before disapparating with a crack.

#harry x ginny #hinny #harry potter #ginny weasley #hinny fanfic #malenkayacherepakhawrites

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hayleysstark · 5 years

Note

Queenie emerges! Thank you for answering my asks! Don't worry about taking too long to reply, I know the Internet can be a pain sometimes lol. Sadly, I had to cancel my Netflix subscription, so my Merlin binge has come to an end for now. But, I absolutely adored watching the episodes and geeking out with you! Hopefully I can continue the series in the future. Speaking of the future, if you were able to write a season 6, how would you do it? I'd love to hear your interpretation!

Oh no I’m sorry you lost your Netflix subscription. That sucks :( I’m glad you enjoyed what you saw of Merlin, though, and thank you so much for letting me talk your ear off about it for the past few weeks lmao. I’m sure I’ve lost at least like,,,,,,,,, a hundred followers,,,,,,,,in the last two weeks alone. what can i say??? People don’t follow me to hear my thoughts and i honestly can’t blame them.

Season 6?? dfghjkytghnfgfd can i get uhhhhh a complete rewrite of S4 and S5 instead???? As much as I ADORE S4 ((Servant of Two Masters???? The Darkest Hour???? Aithusa??? The Sword in the Stone???? Lamia???? all EXTREMELY BLESSED thank you)) I can admit that it has its flaws for sure, to say NOTHING of S5 ((it was literally eleven goddamn episodes of how much filler can we pack in before Arthur has to die and it was,,,,,,,, just Objectively Bad like I can’t even.)) Like can we just. can we just talk. about S4 and S5?

S4 went all right for the first few episodes, objectively speaking - and more than all right, personally speaking. Absolutely adored the season premiere two-parter, and “The Wicked Day” was a perfect blend of solemn but hopeful, absolutely everything I could have imagined for Arthur’s inevitable ascension to the throne. I think, ironically enough, “Servant of Two Masters” is riiiiiiight about where I would have deviated from canon. Like right after it. the episode right after it.

4x07. “The Secret Sharer”. Whoo boy. You didn’t say whether you saw this one or not, so here’s the lowdown: Morgana’s been searching tirelessly for the all-powerful sorcerer Emrys, ‘cause the Callieach ((the gatekeeper to the world of the dead)) informed her that Emrys was to be her doom. She enlists the Lord Agravaine, Arthur’s slimy uncle and her personal spy within the kingdom, to try and help her find Emrys, as she believes he’s hiding in Camelot, close to Arthur. Merlin, of course, is Emrys, and when Agravaine questions Gaius in the absolute least subtle way he possibly can ((literally what the fuck Agravaine how have you survived as a spy this long)), Gaius lies like a rug. UNfortunately, Agravaine isn’t fooled, and remains convinced he knows something. Meanwhile, Arthur finally gets his head on straight and realizes there’s a traitor in his court. Give the boy a prize. Anyway, he suspects his slimy uncle Agravaine, but Agravaine turns Arthur’s distrust around onto Gaius instead, convinces Arthur to interrogate him, you know. Arthur continues to make terrible decisions and comes to the conclusion that, as Gaius never out-and-out condemns sorcery during the course of his interrogation, because he must be untrustworthy. Cue Agravaine taking this opportunity to kidnap Gaius because fuck the elderly right??? anyway, he brings Gaius to Morgana, who’s hired this dude named Alator to torture for information about the elusive Emrys. It’s really convoluted, just go with it. BUT, since Agravaine is the snake to end all snakes, he didn’t JUST kidnap Gaius, oh, no, he staged it so it looked as if Gaius ran away from the kingdom. Arthur thinks Gaius is a traitor who practices magic and scarpered at the first sign of trouble, Merlin of course knows Gaius is completely innocent, Arthur still refuses to send a search party, so of course it’s up to Merlin to find and rescue Gaius. Gwaine comes along for the ride, so go Gwaine, basically. Sir Gwaine is the real mvp and that is just the tea.

ANYWAY so now you’re up to speed. BUT. but. In the S4 rewrite, let’s make it so Merlin doesn’t rescue Gaius. Let’s make it so he can’t find Gaius. Let’s make it so he searches high and low, but Agravaine covered his tracks way too well. We can intersperse the remainder of the season with scenes of unsettling, even outright gory, if we want to go that route, torture. The viewer can see in horrific detail as Gaius’ imprisonment steadily grows more brutal and unlivable until they genuinely don’t think he’s going to last. Or, alternatively? Radio silence. Nothing from Gaius after that episode. The viewer doesn’t know if he’s dead or alive. The viewer knows nothing Merlin doesn’t. Either way, it would help set the tone they were obviously aiming for - the grim, grisly shit they never quite achieved.

And removing Gaius from the narrative changes very little about the rest of the season as a whole. Merlin and Arthur’s relationship grows steadily more strained as Merlin continues his quest to rescue Gaius from Morgana, and Arthur remains stubbornly convinced of Gaius’ treachery. Even better? Merlin is completely, totally alone, allowing the story to take progressively darker and darker turns, and the demands of destiny to weigh even heavier on Merlin’s shoulders than they already do. The next two episodes - “Lamia” and “Lancelot du Lac” - could still happen. Without Gaius. And a doubly painful blow to Arthur in “Lancelot du Lac” - the betrayal of Guinevere, his future queen, and Lancelot, his noblest knight, is just another ache to add to the pile at this point. Even if the viewer disagrees with Arthur’s decisions up til now, his pain would doubtless give their heartstrings a tug or two. And with his and Merlin’s friendship buckling under the stress, Arthur has, or is at least convinced he has, next to no one left to turn to.

“Herald of a New Age” serves as a major turning for Arthur’s character in canon, and I don’t want to hurt or minimize that at all, but at the same time, I would certainly change it in any way I could to make it less....... dull, I suppose? I feel bad calling it that, as it’s one of the precious few episodes that focuses on Elyan, who I love and adore and support with everything in me, and oh, how I wanted to like this one, but I was honestly bored out of my mind for half of it. Not to mention, Elyan just watched his king banish his sister from their lifelong home, and he’s????? okay with it???? what. what. what. Definitely would have added in a bit of tension between Arthur and Elyan for this episode, possibly even for the rest of the season as a whole, and a hell of a lot more focus on Elyan warring with himself, torn between his loyalty to Gwen and his loyalty to Arthur.

“The Hunter’s Heart” was another one I personally found dull, but I don’t necessarily think it was a failing in the narrative itself so much as an opinion. I hold no love for Princess Mithian, and the writers’ attempts to force their series to mesh as fully as possible with the mythology was,,,,,,,,, clumsy, to say the least. No thank you. Personally? I would cut this entire episode from the series, but I recognize and respect it wasn’t exactly bad, just not to my speed.

“The Sword in the Stone”? SHIT GETS REAL SON!!!!! At the end of “The Hunter’s Heart”, we receive a small glimpse of Gaius, but it’s far from reassuring - he’s not dead, but he’s damn near close, and he’s just broken under Alator’s torture, and revealed Emrys’ true identity to a furious Morgana, who swears to topple Camelot and exact her revenge on both Arthur and Merlin, and she’s got a few tricks up her sleeve this time to ensure it happens.

Morgana marches on Camelot, and takes the kingdom, with Agravaine by her side, and as in the episode, Arthur and Merlin manage to get out of the citadel and into the relative safety of the woods, but the knights aren’t so lucky, and wind up imprisoned in the castle dungeons.

And while Morgana obviously didn’t plan on Arthur and Merlin slipping through her grasp yet again, she’s not as shaken as she could be by the thought of Emrys and his king out there working against her - we’re gonna be doing some serious switching around here, and taking the Eancanah from the S5 finale and setting it loose on Merlin here instead. Thus, Merlin is on the run with Arthur, and without his magic.

Arthur can’t know this last bit, of course, but Arthur’s having his own issues. His uncle’s betrayal has completely shattered him at this point. He’s at his absolute lowest here, out of confidence, out of courage, out of the tenacity that’s seen him through every other trial. So many have turned their back on him, after all. What’s wrong with him, he wonders, that makes them betray him? What’s wrong with him, he asks Merlin, that those he cherishes most don’t care for him at all?

The friendship between Merlin and Arthur that’s been crumbling all season faces the ultimate test here. While Merlin struggles to restore Arthur’s self-confidence, he’s hard put to keep himself going, as well - his magic defines him, his magic is who he is, his essence, his lifeblood, and what is he without it? Who is he without it? If he can’t use magic, what good is he? If he can’t use magic, what does he matter?

On their journey to regroup, and retake Camelot, Merlin and Arthur find and rescue Gaius, badly injured and in desperate need of medical attention, and of course, Gwen as well, who Arthur realizes he can no longer live without, in spite of her perceived betrayal. He’s still got a long way to go before he’s completely back to his old self, but the restoration of his relationship with both Gwen and Gaius buoys him, and it sets him on his path once again.

Merlin absolutely falls apart upon seeing his mentor in such a state, of course - look, the father/son feels would be STRONG, I’m just saying. Merlin does everything he can to save Gaius - he’s sure magic is the answer, a bit of magic would do it, if only he had his magic. He’s forced to resort to the old-fashioned way, for now, and to his own intense surprise, manages well enough to keep Gaius going for far longer than he ever would have if Merlin hadn’t stepped in at all. In fact, Merlin does a lot of things like that - things he didn’t even realize he knew how to do, things he didn’t even realize he could, and slowly starts to see that yes, his magic is a part of him, but that’s all it is. A part. A piece of the whole. And he’s the whole. And he matters, and he’s good for something, and he’s a badass, without magic, because magic is NOT all he is goddamn it!!!

Arthur pulls the sword out of the stone, as in canon, and I like to imagine Merlin gets his magic back when - and ONLY when - he accepts that he’s a whole and complete person without it, because that should have been a thing at some point. ((”you cannot lose what you are” fhrfhgfggfgfdfd mY ASS. Merlin is PURE BADASSERY and UNDYING LOYALTY and y’all can leave if y’all try and say magic is all he is.))

Anyway, Arthur and Merlin and co. retake Camelot because we gotta give these kids SOMETHING, and Morgana is killed in the struggle, because let’s face it, by S5, she felt really fucking STALE as a villain. So. Arthur stabs her with Excalibur - or maybe that should be Merlin, because “Emrys is your doom” anyone? also not sure Arthur could bring himself to kill Morgana, to be honest.

Onto S5!!!! can you believe how fucking long this is already but I’m gonna keep going, because I’m really in my stride at this point. Okay, with Morgana dead, and Arthur and Gwen on the throne, Camelot has officially hit its Golden Age. Arthur has slowly begun to change his views on magic, with some small, inevitable steps backward here and there. He’s making peace with the druids, relaxing his stance on sorcerers in his city, uniting Albion, all the good shit. Gaius survived, at the end of S4, but barely, and even now, he remains weakened and frail, and everyone kind of knows he might not see the end of the year. Kilgharrah continues to give cryptic advice. Merlin wants to tell Arthur about his magic but is also a dumbass and can’t bring himself to do it even though the opportunity is RIGHT THERE and we as the audience scream at him to get a move on.

ANYWAY. With Morgana dead, no one’s left to threaten Camelot, right? Everyone’s gone, right? Merlin has all the time in the world to tell Arthur about his magic, and Arthur has all the time in the world to grow into the king Kilgharrah says he will, right?? lmao. no.

Because - wait for it - MORDRED GONNA FUCK SHIT UP SON. MORDRED’S JUST. OUT HERE. FUCKING SHIT UP. Mordred is MAD tbh, he’s really fucking sick of waiting around for Emrys to get his ass in gear and free magic and be the savior of the druids and all that shit. Mordred’s sick of it. He doesn’t care WHAT the prophecies say, it’s OBVIOUS the Triple Goddess chose wrong, and as far as he’s concerned, it’s up to HIM to fix it. So Mordred, with his ladylove, Kara, are raising a literal ARMY of sorcerers, witches, ex-druids, and the like, to exact their freedom from Emrys. They don’t care about Arthur. They’re not after Arthur. In fact, they’re pretty okay with Arthur. He’s not the man making pretty promises edged in gold and not delivering.

Mordred and Kara deliver an ultimatum to Camelot, threatening to tear the kingdom apart, brick by fucking brick, unless King Arthur gives Emrys up to them, and lets them have their way with him. Poor Arthur is like ??????????? I’m sorry????? who is this Mr. Emrys???? what did he do to piss y’all off???? can i interest y’all in a peace treaty?????

Arthur fails to comply with Mordred’s demands, and deliver Emrys to him, so the attacks begin, growing progressively more violent as the weeks go by. Of course Arthur doesn’t take it lying down - he and his knights go out to counter every assault, to try and intercept every threat, but they’re losing, and they can’t pretend otherwise. They rely on steel and sinew alone, whereas Mordred’s army uses magic in spades. They summon deadly magical creatures, they kill the crops, they manipulate the weather to bring about droughts. They do everything they can to topple Camelot. Merlin is almost sick with the guilt and shame of it all, as he watches his home torn apart, razed to the ground, all because of him. He tells Arthur the truth, and gives himself up, and Arthur’s so furious with Merlin, he doesn’t even try to stop him from heading into Mordred’s clutches, but Gwaine gets wind of what’s going down and he’s just like FUCK NO and goes after Merlin because he’s the Real MVP aaaaand this,,,,,, sounds like a bad fanfiction doesnt it ANYWAY Cue The Battle of Camlann FOR REASONS!!! and utter heartbreak. but with more time for Arthur to adjust to Merlin having magic, and working things out with him. jUST!!! more than one episode where Arthur knows the truth about Merlin!!! pls!!!! pls!!!! thats!!!! all i ask!!! also Arthur’s conscious when he meets Kilgharrah and wants to know why the FUCK Merlin is friends with the DRAGON that ATTACKED his kingdom. talk your way out of that one, Merlin. I fucking dare you.

fghytghbfdfhgfg GOD i’m,,,,,,, so sorry,,,,,,, this got,,,,,,,, so long,,,,,,,, dfhytghnjhgfghgfghgfrty if you made it to the end,,,,,,, thank you,,,,,i’m so sorry,,,,,, i talked,,,,,, so much,,,,,,,

#merlin #bbc merlin #ask #queenie #Anonymous

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rosyredlipstick · 6 years

Text

merlin fic rec list - starter pack

@trueloveorsomething told me she’s never really read a merlin fic and my heart, that is still stuck in the blissful ignorance of november 2012, couldn’t accept that. I promptly told her I would make her a starter pack of some of my favorites and completely forgot about it until she reminded me like, an hour ago. So sorry bout that. Rina puts up with so much of my shit and deserves a nice fic rec list considering I call drunk call her at 4am and she still answers.

SO HERE’S A REC LIST THAT IS VERY LATE AND TOO LONG ILY AND I HOPE THESE BEAUTIFUL MERTHUR FICS SOMEHOW CONVEY THAT

For Your Information by reni_days (ao3 no longer available)

Summary:

Merlin sighs. "After your...announcement," he explains, "your father decided he needed a bit more information. Which is apparently where I come in. I'm sort of like his gay tutor, it's hard to explain."

Okay so this was one of my all-time favorite merlin fics because I HAVE NEVER READ A BETTER UTHER!! WHO IS TRYING TO LOVE & UNDERSTAND HIS SON!!! But recently the fic was taken off ao3 and I was desolate for numerous days UNTIL I REALIZED that the author had still left up the original livejournal post from 2012. Wow. flashbacks. Anyways, this is def in my top five I adore it.

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A New Low by Rosie_Rues // @rosierues

Summary:

Written for this prompt at kinkme_merlin, which asked for diabetic!Merlin stuck in a lift with Arthur. It grew from there.

God. GOD. secretly caring Arthur Pendragon is LITERALLY MY SHIT. The dialogue & character interactions are SO FUNNY and I swear I laugh on every read through (which is often tbh). FLUFF!

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A Modern Manservant by Mamalazzer

Summary:

A modern magical comedy very loosely based on Ugly Betty. Publishing king Uther Pendragon has had enough of his playboy son seducing every female assistant he has ever had so he hires Merlin, a man he is sure Arthur will never sleep with. Merlin would be more insulted by this fact if he wasn’t so busy trying to juggle his duties, save Arthur's skin from ruthless fashionistas and keep his magic a secret at the same time. Expect appearances by oil-lathered knights, the occasional mad druid, a perverted Will and a mental caretaker who lives in the basement and keeps harping on about coins and destiny.

I honestly think about this fic constantly. I’ve been meaning to reread it for like, a month and my time has finally come. An Ao3 legend. Wow. I’m in awe of this fic. I love it so much. Please Read, I’m Begging.

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Dying to Return by StormDancer // @hurricanedancer

Summary:

When they try to hang him, he floats.

They put him on the pyre at dawn.

He doesn’t burn.

Canon-divergence is one of my fav tags and this fic does it SO WELL! Also BAMF!Merlin bc OF COURSE and again, this fic just shows their relationship and Arthur’s inner struggles/thoughts so well as he deals with this ~~~mysterious~~~ mage. Wow. You’ll be screaming the whole time.

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The Weight of Words by Waldorph // @waldorph

Summary:

Arthur knows how to use words just as well as Merlin, and he knows about the magic.

One of the best character studies I’ve ever read. Also done by a fic legend, and it SHOWS. I never know how much i craved the tag “Smart!Arthur” bUT I DID! Also Morgana is my favorite. She needs more love.

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How to Untrain Your Dragon by Teumessian

Summary:

Merlin has many secrets but Arthur sees more than anyone knows. This is the story of a prince and a dragon. A canon changeling!verse AU, deviating around season 2.

In case you haven’t been able to tell, I’m a bITCH for magic revealed fic. And I seriously loooove when Arthur already knows. Wow. Plus this is a great twist with the changeling AU. Check it out!!!

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Emrys Ascending by tricksterity

Summary:

In the depths of the Crystal of Neahtid, Merlin sees the resurrection of Lord Voldemort, an event that will tip the balance of the world so far out that only he has the power to intervene and set it right, or stop it from ever happening. For that, he'll have to pose as a student and attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The only problem is, he's been chosen instead of Cedric Diggory as a Triwizard Champion, and there's a recently reborn Arthur Pendragon in Gryffindor House.

*lays out cards on table* you want some character development? Some of that good BAMF Merlin shit? Some of that reincarnation? Magic revealed? 100k+? A HOGWARTS AU? Have I got the SHIT FOR YOU! Pls scream about this fic w me.

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Keep the Magic Secret by orphan_account

Summary:

For the prompt: Someone tells Arthur about the legends of Emrys, an all-powerful warlock whose destiny is to protect Arthur and his kingdom and help bring about an age of peace. He is told that Emrys is someone close to him, and has hidden his identity and trials over the years to protect himself and make sure he can continue on at Arthur's side. When Arthur asks who it is, the person turns to Arthur and shrewdly asks: "Arthur, who do you want it to be?" ... Arthur's mind automatically goes to Merlin.

ASDGL;DKLD WOW. I ADORE how the author wrote Arthur’s mindset, and the plot is so well done and fleshed out I’m totally obsessed. Wow. Such an intense slow burn I’m sure a small village went up in flames. Wow. Also, I love Gwen with my whole heart and this fic treats her RIGHT w/out ignoring her whole canon storyline. Great work!!!

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All’s Well That Ends Well by StormDancer // @hurricanedancer

Summary:

Merlin spent the week and a half that Arthur was gone splitting his time between crafting careful explanations that never ended up explaining the important things, the things that would make Arthur listen, and making half-baked plans to escape to Ealdor. He found a number of fire-proofing spells that would have no effect if they decided to cut his head off, and figured out how to adapt an invulnerability spell he had been trying to find a way to cast on Arthur without him noticing so that it would protect him from being decapitated, but it would have no effect on anything but metal. Despite all his frantic searching, he did not find a teleportation spell, because that would have been too simple and if there was one thing Merlin had learned in his years at Camelot, it was that nothing was ever simple.

A classic magic revealed fic that handles emotion - both Merlin & Arthur’s - extremely well. I’m a big fan of this author, so check out their other works if you’re interested!

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Strike of Lightning by helloearthlings

Summary:

Uther's commandment was very simple: If there should come a day when Arthur met his soulmate, he would drive a sword through their chest and kill them on sight.

EVERY fandom has their own soulmarks fic AND THIS IS MERLIN’S WOW! I love it. I adore it. I’d frame it and put it above my bed if it wasn’t 4k words.

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1609, 5280, 63360 by Sham

Summary:

When they were young, Arthur had gone running. Morgana discovered that early into her tenure at the Pendragons; shortly after the car crash, when she was swathed in a bed with silk sheets with the memory of Uther standing awkwardly in her doorway, old face creased with the vestiges of grief and uncomfortable concern for the fragile girl in his house.

I haven’t read this one yet - it’s next on my to-read list! - but it seriously looks SO GOOD and once again I LOVE MORGANA and plus there seems to be a somewhat sympathic Uther in this which, once again, I would die for.

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Fathom Me Out by supercalvin // @supercalvin

Summary:

After ten years, Arthur thinks he has Merlin all figured out. But as he watches Merlin, he finds out that he has more questions than answers. The longer he thinks about it, the more uneasy he feels. So he pushes it aside. Except, he can no longer ignore the questions he has about Merlin.

Not your everyday reveal!fic.

Great character study & development and I loooove how the author writes their relationship. Also, it’s not required, but the prequel to this fic is also very very good and I highly rec it! Check it out here - Laundry’s Hard Work.

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It’s Nice to Finally Tweet You by Pendragons Dragonlord // @pseudoauthor

Summary:

Merlin's eyes scan the headline.

Arthur Pendragon reveals mark in attempt to find the one.

"I pity the guy who's unfortunate enough to get him as a soul mate.”

In which Arthur is a famous celebrity, Merlin is a beloved teacher, and they break Twitter once. Well, twice. Okay so it's a whole bunch of times actually but it's not their fault. Really it's not.

Read that description and try not to explode over your excitement for this fic. Really, I dare you. It’s such a good balance of fluff, plot, and soulmarks. Also, Merlin is a schoolteacher and if that doesn’t sell you on it I have nothing else to offer.

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Until You Do (I’ll Bring You Tea and Honey) by TheAvalonian

Summary:

Modern AU: Everyone keeps assuming that Merlin and Arthur are together, so as a joke, they start pretending it's true. And then, suddenly, it is.

A story of giant teddy bears, meddling sisters, nonexistent homoerotic subtext (or is it?), and accidentally falling in love.

So much fluff you’ll get a toothache. The best Friends to Lovers fic I’ve ever read ever in my life. Wow. WOW. This tops the cake not only with a cherry but like, a hundred dollar bill (iDK WHAT'S BETTER THAN A CHERRY JUST DO W IT) READ THE FLUFF.

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License to Thrill by lady_ragenll // @theladyragnell

Summary:

Merlin's employees bet him the recipe for the most addictive cocoa in the world that he can't find out what the hot blond who comes into his chocolate shop does for a living within the month. He ends up getting far more than he bargained for.

This was such a joy to read like, all the dialogue? Is SO GOOD. Also, I love Merlin so much in this fic wow. Omg. I’m in love with this fic and we’re getting married this weekend.

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Not In This Land Alone by torakowalski

Summary:

Modern AU. When Merlin Emrys gets a summer job at Buckingham Palace, he doesn't expect to even meet King Arthur, let alone become involved in protecting him from a plot to overthrow the monarchy.

I’m finishing off this list with a Merlin fandom CLASSIC. Admittedly, it took me a while to get around to reading this but by the time I was a few paragraphs in I was instantly wondered WHY bc it’s SO GOOD AND I WAS MISSING OUT SO MUCH. So much drama I was thriving. The plot? Perfection. Wow.

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Okay I think that’s a decent start for a starter pack - Rina & everyone else who reads this, I hope y’all enjoy! Remember to kudus & review for any fics you enjoyed!!! Also I found like, seven new merlin fics I somehow haven’t read yet soooooooooo another list may be on the way soon omg.

#merlin #merthur #arthur pendragon #morgana #fic rec list #fic recs #trueloveorsomething #FOR RINA #rina tag

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theonceoverthinker · 6 years

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OUAT Rewatch: 1X02 - The Thing You Love Most

How in Merlin’s tree trunk did this post end up being longer than the one for the freakin’ Pilot?!

I better watch it, or this is gonna be one wordy rewatch!

If you want to join in on my rewatch train and hear my thoughts, head below the cut because this is another long one! (Here’s what to expect if you do: Fawning over dynamics, getting lost in sexy ladies both on their own and together, fanfiction bunnies a plenty, and a squigin of analysis! Bring a shaker, because there’s hardly a pinch of salt here!)

Chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, TWO TWO!

Press Release Regina does everything in her power to force Emma out of Storybrooke and out of her and Henry’s lives forever. Meanwhile, the chilling circumstances of how the Evil Queen released the curse upon the fairytale world is revealed. General Thoughts Following up the pilot, a remarkable - practically flawless - episode was a hard task and this episode delivered! It kicks off right from where we ended last time in the present, and we get a cool change of perspective in the past. Speaking of which, let us start off in the past. I love the transition between Regina in the wedding hall to her castle and immediately, we give her some people to talk to and set up her power dynamics. Not only do we get to see two servants, but people closer to Regina’s level, and that’s so important as an audience member to get a feel for her strengths and weaknesses going forward and to paint a picture of someone who has truly exhausted every resource to get what she wants. That makes the twisted tragedy at the end of the episode so much more complicated, though no less evil. Of course, Regina comes out of this episode with so much development. The moonlit scenes (both by the fire pit and in the castle) with Henry Sr (Whose identity was one of OUAT’s greatest twists) spoke to how Regin’s lust for revenge has eclipsed not only her sensibilities of right and wrong, but the love that others in her life (most notably Henry Sr. himself). Finally, I want to point out the scene between Rumple and Regina, because it was so close to being my favorite dynamic of the episode. There’s a level of comfortable tension between the two of them. You can see it in the way that Regina’s not surprised when Rumple asks for more in his deal, and despite Rumple’s silly and insane antics and requests, she’s able to hold steady. Their relationship also contrasts the scene with Regina and Mal. In that scene, Regina was able to take what she wanted. In this scene, she must relent and gagree to Rumple’s terms, and that speaks to the matter of sizing up Regina that I mentioned before and in a way that doesn’t skimp on character development for either Mal or Rumple. In addition, the scene just made me laugh. Fuck! Robert Carlyle is too fucking good! Now let’s blast to the present! The opening is really delightful and gives off a feeling of something being both familiar and new, and it’s a great metaphor for the waves that Emma is already bringing to Storybrooke. In fact, the whole episode - characters and stories - show a shift. Everyone acts just a little closer to either the direction of their character arcs (Ex. Emma and Archie) or to their fairytale selves (Ex. Regina, Rumple, and Archie), and it’s played very subtly. Just like the tick of a clock. Not gonna lie, I laughed hard during the famous apple tree scene. Between Emma’s satisfied smile, the way Regina freakin’ wooshed from her window to go investigate, and how Regina was screaming had me cackling like a hyena. However, in addition to being funny, we also got some more characterization out of Emma, namely impulsivity and external fearlessness. What I mean by external fearlessness is how while Emma is afraid of intangible things like forming connections and trusting, a threat like an intimidating person is a lot less scary to her, and she has no trouble taking Regina up on her threats. I feel that these traits are expanded on, but given a suitable level of retention throughout the rest of the series. Insights I immediately realized how weird it was that we had an actual voice-over intro to the show in Season 1. I totally understand why it disappeared after the curse broke, but just remembering it again was like a cup of cold water to the face. Also, I really wish that we could have somehow had the narrator who did the intro as well as the famous “previously, on Once Upon a Time” be an actual character a-la “Into the Woods,” or hell, make him Isaac or an older Henry! Of course, keep Andrew West, but maybe a Henry who is the Apprentice’s age! XD Between this episode and the pilot, I notice so much pop music in the show’s soundtrack! In later seasons, apart from the rare instance of “Only You” and a couple of 80’s songs at Roni’s or the arcade, we really don’t get instances of contemporary tracks. I’m stuck between that being important or not. On one hand, the change to classical could reflect on the reformation of Storybrooke to its fairy tale origins with the end of the curse and the return of magic, but the contemporary music, at least here, also goes along with the theme of things changing in Storybrooke, and for the better. ALSO, along the lines of music, I couldn’t help but notice how the lyrics of the song specifically resonate with the specific character on screen as they’re sung (Ex. “Don’t be shy” to Mary Margaret, “Don’t wear your fear” to Emma, and “Let your feelings out instead” to Graham’s car and Archie). Neat! Aesthetic stuff that pleases me: Regina’s outfits in this episode are all among my favorite (And her hair in the flashback - high ponytails are the way to go if you’re a fairytale character!), Emma’s bug (So, I won a model of her bug in an auction at NJ con last year and I was sad to see a gray dent in the middle, and just now, I saw that same dent in her bug in the show! I’m so happy), Emma in that tank (How the hell did I not realize I was bi until nearly a year after I started this show?!), The smoke when characters poof around (It looks so good in the beginning of the show - no offense to later seasons - I like the smoke there too, but this smoke is so puffy and like a mix of cotton and its accompanying seeds as they flutter in the breeze), and Lana’s makeup (I normally don’t pay attention to makeup, but with the lighting of this episode, I couldn’t help but notice it) I also really wish we had an episode about Regina’s apple tree! Along those same lines, we see Regina with a horde of baddies, and a lot of them have really cool designs. I’m not saying we needed their stories per se - sometimes a minion can just be a minion - but I wish we could’ve seen a bit more of them. These are some of the “darkest souls,” after all. This episode really made me think about how I felt about Maleficent and the consistency between the character we see here as well as in bits and pieces throughout Seasons 1 and 2 and the one who reappears in Season 4. Now, obviously, we see her story out of order, as Lily not only was already gone but in a meta-sense, not created yet (Some would call it a retcon, but I agree with the perspective suggested once that retconning isn’t really a thing on OUaT due to the non-linear timeline method of storytelling and Mal’s motivations - while somewhat set up - aren’t loosely defined at this point in the series). Some things not evaluated on - the horse, most notably - give me pause, though as to its importance. Arcs I’ll be honest: I’m not exactly sure how to expand upon this section. Here’s my best attempt. Emma journey of belief - I’ll elaborate on this a bit, but Emma’s journey with belief is tied to her relationship with Henry, and as their relationship developed here, as did Emma’s journey. However, as I will also mention, she has a long way to go. The power struggle against Regina - This episode painted a much more elaborate picture of Regina and her power dynamics with others in her life. We see her acting as mayor and the levels of influence she holds over the whole town. The corruption of Storybrooke is clear to all but the most naive. At the same time though, she is not infallible, and those who choose to stand up to her are indeed victorious, but give rise to a Regina who is not only more vicious, but also more sinister and calculating. Favorite Dynamic Emma and Henry! I feel like this episode shows their dynamic even better than the pilot did. Here, they get a bit more banner, and while there’s an intense push-and-pull still there, we get to see more of Henry’s likable and precocious traits and how they mix with a jaded, but less-so Emma. They also get a lot of funny moments! Between and Henry owning up to sending the hot cocoa, more or less demanding Emma walk him to school, and throwing the apple in the hammiest fashion, I could hardly keep a straight face. But more than that, I feel like there’s a good mix of Henry explaining himself, but also not letting a moment of character building drop in his grasp, and not only does he ensure that, but every character that brings him up does the same (Specifically, Archie). Also, Henry’s much more self aware here. Now that the threat of Emma going is averted for the time being, he’s able to express his own understanding of her doubts and build on that logically without letting his belief falter. I love when Regina’s trying to convince him that Emma’s a conwoman and he’s just having none of it. All of this just makes the scene where Regina sets Emma up to hurt Henry by dismissing his beliefs so tragic, especially because it comes from this honest and caring place on Emma’s part. She wants to look out for Henry’s well being, and yet her words are twisted, undoing any good that could come of her well-meaning intentions. When the scene is resolved, it’s not a step in Emma’s journey of belief, per se (She’s very clearly lying about the fairy tale world being real), but in her relationship with Henry, and that’s revealed to be one and the same. I also want to point out the specialness that is their relationship based on the conversation that Emma and Mary Margaret share. Mary Margaret brings up a good point: most everyone who knows and cares enough for Henry are under Regina’s thumb. She controls their livelihoods and make it near impossible to do too much to act in Henry’s best interests. However, Emma, an outsider who is not dependent on Regina (At least at this moment), exists outside this paradigm and is the only one both in a position to and fearless enough to create the change in Henry’s life that will actually improve his situation. It creates a meaningful reason for Emma to remain in Storybrooke and adds a unique challenge to Emma’s usual instinct to not - as Sidney says - “sit still.” Writer A&E are once again at the helm of this episode! Right now, as I work with two episodes, I consider their main strengths to be their depictions of character relationships of all kinds (With one weird exception that honestly surprised me). As for weaknesses, as I know I’ll be expanding on this in due time, overambition. There’s so much set up in this episode as well as the one before it, and while most (within the scope of only these two episodes) gets meaningful resolution, there are some elements that don’t. Rating 10/10...I was conflicted about what to give this episode. It’s great. It’s very fucking great, and a Golden Apple - however repetitious from my last episode. However, this is a rewatch, and with a rewatch comes the acknowledgment and recognition of unused potential of story elements in hindsight, and this episode does show a lot that was never truly acted upon. In addition to background events and characters, some story elements like Emma and Henry pretending to be non believers don’t come back. That having been said, that unused story potential only holds in regard to smaller character and story elements, things that I want to be built on, and that’s a weak criticism at best. The important story elements - the main story points and the integral characters - are treated well by this episode. There’s nuance and charm galore added to our central cast and the story propels us from the powerful pilot into a well-written continuation. So, I took away its * and left it as a 10/10. Flip My Ship Swan Queen - I love the bickering so much! Regina calling Emma “dear” had me giggling like sparkly Rumple after eight cups of coffee! Oh damn, and those intense looks at the hotel! AND the freakin’ apple tree scene! That tension was so thick, you could only hope to cut it with a chainsaw! Dragon Queen - Regina and Mal’s scene is a long and strong, and while I don’t start really feeling it with them until Season 4, I do still love the connection between them. That only friend line implies so much history, and knowing at least the start of their connection really gives extra meaning to that line.

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...So much for keeping these rewatch pieces short, am I right? Hope you liked them and thanks once more to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales for putting this rewatch together! Season Tally (20/220) Writer Tally for Season 1: A&E (20/70)

#watching fairytales #ouat 1x02 #ouat #ouat rewatch #jenna watches ouat #ships mentioned #swan queen #dragon queen

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whimsicaldragonette · 6 years

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Romancing the Sorcerer’s Stone (Part 20 of 24)

Part 1~ Part 2~ Part 3~ Part 4~ Part 5~ Part 6~ Part 7~ Part 8~ Part 9~ Part 10~ Part 11~ Part 12~ Part 13~ Part 14~ Part 15~ Part 16~ Part 17~ Part 18~ Part 19~ Part 20~ Part 21~ Part 22~ Part 23~ Part 24~

-Chapter 20: Golden Snitches-

March 2004 — The Burrow, England

Harry sighs, slouching further down the sofa where he’d thrown himself after eating far too much at one of Molly’s Sunday brunches. “We’re not going to be able to do a lot of searching in muggle scuba gear. And Zabini will likely only give us one shot at it.” He rubs his eyes. “I wish we had a metal detector.”

Malfoy, sprawled on the couch next to him, raises a quizzical eyebrow. “What’s a metal detector?”

“It’s… well, I’m not sure exactly how they work.” He shrugs helplessly. "Anyway, they’re muggle things. They can find bits of metal buried in the dirt. People mostly use them to search for buried treasure, but honestly I think they’re kind of gimmicky. Dudley and Uncle Vernon got one, once, and I got to play with it a bit when Dudley got bored of it after he didn’t find anything after five minutes of wandering around the yard. Too bad there’s not a wizarding version.”

Malfoy scoffs, leans over to flick Harry’s forehead. “It’s a diamond, Potter, not made of metal.”

Harry can tell Malfoy is gearing himself up to launch into the standard ‘but you wouldn’t know that because you grew up poor’ teasing, and steels himself, but instead he stops, mouth part-way open, staring at him.

“Malfoy?” Harry waves a hand in front of his face.

Malfoy lights up, which, honestly, isn’t the reaction he was expecting.

“Harry!” he exclaims, eyes sparkling, “You’re a bloody genius!”

That’s really not what he was expecting. “Sorry, what?” He must have heard him wrong. Did he space out again?

Malfoy ignores him. At least that’s normal, Harry thinks, bemused.

“That’s exactly what we need! It won’t even be that hard; we’ll just have to… Pansy! Hermione! We need your brains!”

Bill wanders over after a few minutes, drawn by the intense discussion that’s taken over their corner of the living room, followed by the Malfoys and Arthur.

Ron, who’s been watching with a strange expression on his face as he rubs Hermione’s shoulders, breaks in suddenly.

“You don’t even need a physical device, though — you just need to modify a detection spell. Although… Having some way to trigger it when you can’t spare the attention for a spell might help…”

Malfoy stares at him in astonishment. “Ronald, I never thought I’d say this, but you’re brilliant!” He claps him heartily on the back.

Ron grimaces. “Just don’t call me Ronald ever again. I feel like I’m in trouble whenever someone does that.”

Molly and Hermione share a knowing smirk and Ron colors. Malfoy just laughs. “You prefer Weasel, then?”

“If I can call you Ferret in return.”

Malfoy snorts. “I don’t think I’m ready to call you ‘Ron’ yet, so Weasley will have to suffice for now.”

Ron looks relieved. “Good. Not sure I’m ready to call you ‘Draco’ either, Malfoy.”

By the time they leave, once brunch has stretched well past dinner, they’ve made a fair bit of progress. Stranger still, they’ve all got plans to meet up again the following week for further research. Molly doesn’t protest — Harry knows she loves hosting their gatherings, and he secretly thinks she would do it more often if she thought she could get away with it — and it’s so nice to see everyone getting along. Strange, but nice.

This ‘Dark magic detector’ is turning into a fascinating bit of spellwork, and he can practically see the wheels spinning in Hermione’s head as Ron helps her into her coat. Ron makes an exasperated face at him as he herds Hermione toward the floo. Harry knows she’ll be up all night researching, but he can’t find it in himself to mind.

That’s just how life works, he thinks vaguely, as he twists in place and feels the tug of apparition pulling him away from the cozy Burrow. Hermione stays up all night doing the research, and we take care of the adventuring.

He doesn’t notice that somewhere along the line, ‘we’ has morphed from him and Ron to him and Draco.

September 2004 — Somewhere in the Caribbean

Harry marvels at the shimmering, blue-tinted world around him. Fronds of sea-grass wave seductively off to his left; a school of tiny fish darts past him to the right, rainbow scales shimmering in the weak light. The fierce tropical sun is dimmed and filtered here below the water, only the tiniest fraction of light able to pierce the depths. It’s otherworldly. Beautiful.

A hand clamps down suddenly on his shoulder and he starts, turning abruptly toward Malfoy’s exasperated face. He can’t speak underwater, but his thumb jerks toward their goal, then taps impatiently at his wrist, where his air-gauge gleams faintly. Harry nods, chastised. They only have enough air for an hour - an hour-and-a-half, tops if they push it. He doesn’t want to push it.

He turns resolutely away from the beckoning alien world around him and follows Malfoy’s wetsuit-clad form toward the hulking shipwreck.

Malfoy looks even more dangerous in a muggle wetsuit, all gleaming black rubber and toothy grin. Harry feels a frisson of something unfamiliar running up his spine, and he looks around warily, scanning for danger. The ocean stares back at him, placid and opaque. After one last wary glance behind, he turns back to follow him.

They’ve kept this dive as secret as they can, even laying down a false trail in the American Southwest, but… he wouldn’t put it past Zabini to turn up here. The man has an uncanny knack for finding them when he’s least wanted.

Malfoy’s expression is hard to read as he waits for Harry to catch up, hidden in the shadow of the decaying mass of barnacle-encrusted timber. Harry wishes, not for the first time, that Snape had been able to teach him legilimency all those years ago. He’d give a pretty penny for one of the magical communicators Ron and George are working on, as Malfoy’s scowl deepens. His hand twitches reflexively toward his hip, where he feels the lack of his wand keenly.

The wreck just had to be in a strong magical dead-zone, didn’t it? Of course, that’s likely why the blood diamond hasn’t been recovered before now. For that matter, Harry thinks, eyes widening, it isn’t terribly unlikely that something in that wreck is causing the dead zone — maybe even the blood diamond itself.

Malfoy rolls his eyes and taps a button on his wrist.

“What on earth is wrong, Potter?”

His exasperated voice echoes suddenly around Harry’s skull and he jumps, then glares when Malfoy sniggers. He’d forgotten about the muggle communication device that’s built into their suits.

He presses the button on his own wrist. “Yeah, yeah, Malfoy, very funny. Let’s just get on with this, yeah?”

Malfoy studies him for a moment, frowning, then glances down at his air gauge and nods.

“I’m leaving the channel open, though. We may get separated, and the last thing I need is to have to rescue you because you’ve spaced out again. Follow me.”

Harry hates to say he loves it when Malfoy is bossy, but Merlin help him, he does.

Malfoy turns, kicking slowly through a gaping hole in the hull. Harry follows, using his forearm to brush away more of the sea grass that clings to the opening, kicking his feet and propelling himself past the rotting timbers — they don’t look even a little bit like teeth, he tells himself firmly — and into the darkness beyond.

Malfoy has already activated his flashlight, and Harry does the same. The twin beams of light dance crazily around the cavernous room, obscuring more than they reveal. Harry squints, looking for some sort of opening… There.

“Found it!” he calls, and Malfoy’s light swings around to join his. Together, they reveal that it is indeed a doorway with a set of rickety stairs leading down and to the right.

Malfoy shoots him a quick grin. “I’m going in. Light my way from behind, will you?”

Harry nods and follows him deeper into the ship.

It takes longer than they’d expected to find the right storage room, even longer to find the right crate inside it. But when they do…

“Bloody hell!” Malfoy whispers. Harry’s low whistle echoes over his words, and then he snorts.

“Been hanging out with Ron lately, have you?”

“Shut up,” Malfoy says, but his words don’t have the usual bite to them. “I’ve been going with you to the Weasley dinners for months now, you know. Years, even.”

Harry stares at him. It’s true, he realizes. After that first day, when he’d pulled him with him into the side-along apparition without thinking about it because they were in the middle of some argument or another, he has been going to Weasley dinners regularly. Now that he thinks of it, Astoria’s joined them lately as well, and Lucius, and Narcissa, and even Pansy has become a regular after that job in Florence. Huh.

“Potter!” Malfoy snaps. “Get ahold of yourself! You can go back to whatever identity crisis you’re having after we get this thing back to the boat.”

Harry blinks, then blinks again. “Ah, Malfoy… How are we going to get this back to the boat?”

He rolls his eyes. “Obviously, Potter, we’ll just cast a — oh.”

Harry snorts. Oh, indeed. He grasps one of the chest’s handles and tugs experimentally on it. Malfoy gets the idea and copies his movement on the other side. It doesn’t budge.

“Well, shit.”

They stare at it in silence for a moment. Malfoy frowns down at his air gauge, tapping it lightly and grimacing at whatever he sees there. “We’ll have to leave most of it here. Do you have that detector?”

Harry nods, fishing it out of the pouch at his waist, and passes it to him.

They find the diamond, eventually, with only minutes to spare. The needles on both air gauges are pushing disturbingly close to red — and they still have to get back up — when Malfoy lifts the umpteenth jewel and the dark magic detector goes crazy.

They eye one another, eyebrows lifted in surprise. This thing is dark.

Harry checks his gauge again and winces, hurrying to pull out the specially enhanced magic-dampening containment pouch — Charlie, Bill, and George’s contribution to the endeavor. His fingers, clumsy in the enhanced scuba gear, fumble for a moment as he tries to open it. The needle ticks over into the red.

Harry shakes the bag impatiently, finally wrenching it open. Malfoy drops the jewel in and Harry closes it, securing it to his belt.

He glances down at the chest regretfully, jewels winking temptingly back at him, then back at his gauge. Shit.

“Malfoy — we have to go, now.”

Malfoy sighs, but nods. “Right. Just let me…”

He draws out a second pouch and fumbles it open. The needle ticks again, and Harry can feel his anxiety rising. “Come on, Malfoy!”

Malfoy waves him off as he scoops a handful of jewels and coins into his pouch, secures it, and then nods. “Let’s go.”

Harry follows him from the room, rolling his eyes.

“Was that really necessary?” he gasps, once they’ve heaved themselves back over the side of the boat and discarded their oxygen masks. He rolls over onto his back, squinting his eyes against the harsh Caribbean afternoon sun.

He glances through his lashes to see Malfoy copying his movements; he flashes a quicksilver grin.

“I couldn’t just leave it all there. Anyway,” he says as he rolls suddenly, until he’s propped over Harry, muscles defined even though the wetsuit, “you like it.”

Harry stares up at him, blonde hair shining like a halo around his head, darker than usual and dripping water on Harry’s cheek, and he can’t find it in himself to mind.

“Like what?” he asks, voice coming out breathless, hoarser than he intends.

Malfoy grins his lazy, predatory smile, all teeth and charisma. “This,” he says, gesturing expansively at the glaring sun, the dazzling blue sea, himself.

“Adventure. Thrill. Danger.”

Harry tries to disagree but he can’t find the words. He stares, mouth open, at the light blush that dusts Malfoy’s cheeks. Then he rolls off him, breaking the moment.

“Come on, Potter,” he says, all business once more. “Let’s get back to shore. I want to get out of this blasted suit and back to London so I can run some tests on this before Zabini gets wind of it.”

A delicate cough sounds from the boat’s cabin. “That might be more difficult than you imagine.”

Their heads swing around in unison to stare at the interloper, and Harry thinks distantly that it would be funny, if not for the pistol pointed at Malfoy’s chest.

Malfoy stares blankly at the intruder. “Fucking Zabini,” he mutters. “What in Salazar’s name are you doing here?”

Zabini snorts, but the pistol doesn’t waver. “What do you think, Malfoy? Give it to me.”

Malfoy scowls and sets his jaw in the stubborn expression Harry has become intimately acquainted with in the past six years.

“No.”

Harry rolls his eyes but sidles cautiously to the left. If I can just get a little closer…”

He wills Malfoy to keep talking. Luckily the git’s stubbornness is something he knows he can count on.

“No?” Blaise looks pointedly at the pistol in his hand, and then back to Malfoy. “Do you know what this is?”

“I’m not stupid, Zabini. Of course, I know what it is.”

Just a little closer…

“Then you know what she’ll do to you at this range?” He pats the gun fondly; Harry grimaces. He’d never noticed how crazy Zabini was back in school. Malfoy, apparently, is thinking the same thing.

“Did Voldemort do something to your mind during the war, Zabini, or were you always this unhinged and I just never noticed?”

Zabini grimaces in disgust, and his face flickers with something that might be fear.

“Don’t say his n—“

Harry sees his chance, and, as he is a Gryffindor, he takes it without stopping to think. He launches himself through the air, hitting Zabini with a full-body flying tackle, sending them both overboard.

The sharp retort of the pistol echoes in the humid air and Harry fervently hopes that Malfoy had the sense to get out of the way. He can’t check, though; He’s too busy thrashing about in the water, trying to stay afloat and also get the upper hand.

And then Zabini’s hands are around his neck and squeezing, and the world starts to go dim and flickery around the edges.

There’s a deafening crack, and then Zabini’s hold loosens. Harry gasps in a breath that is more water than air and feels a hand snag his hair — none too gently — and lift him out of the water.

He finds himself on their hired boat once more, on his hands and knees on the wood planking of the deck, struggling to breathe.

Gentle hands support him, pulling his hair back from his face as he retches and coughs up the water he swallowed, then pressing his glasses into his hands.

“Thanks,” he rasps, when he feels reasonably sure he’s not actually going to drown.

The hands retreat, and Malfoy’s features resettle themselves into their familiar expressionless mask.

“Let’s go. Before he gets back.”

Harry scrambles to his feet. “What did you…?”

Malfoy’s mouth twitches into a reluctant smile. “Whacked him over the head with an oar. Not my most elegant move, but effective.”

Harry snorts, running his eyes over Malfoy’s form. There’s something— his gaze snags on Malfoy’s left arm, cradled at an odd angle against his side.

“Malfoy… is that blood? Did he shoot you?”

He scowls, turning away. “It’s nothing, Potter. Just a scratch.”

“It’s not nothing. Here, let me—“

Harry reaches for his arm, but Malfoy jerks away from him.

“I said it’s fine! Merlin! I’ll tend to it once we get back. I don’t know how hard I hit him, and that island’s just within swimming distance. I don’t trust Zabini as far as I can throw him.”

Harry nods, giving in, but quietly determines to keep a close eye on him until they get back. “Right. Let’s go, then.”

Some minutes later, a small, dark craft slips out from a sheltered cove, fishes a dripping, fuming Zabini out of the water, and follows..

You can also read, comment, etc on AO3, FF, or Wattpad

#drarry #drarry squad #slytherdornet #harry potter #romancing the sorcerer's stone #my fic #my writing #draco malfoy #harryxdraco

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tomeandflickcorner · 7 years

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OUAT Episode Analysis- Wake Up Call

Yay. A Regina Centric. Don’t get me wrong, because so far this season, Regina hasn’t really done anything that annoyed me, barring the moment last episode when she automatically assumed Henry must have been having potentially romantic thoughts about Ivy just because he shared a drink with her. But it still frustrates me when they try to make us forget about how Regina wasn’t always a good person.

So, we pick up where we left off last episode, with Roni/Regina and Henry puzzling over the photograph of them in Storybrooke. Of course, because the denial game is strong with them, they just dismiss it as Victoria’s attempt to mess with them or something. However, Lucy, upon hearing about the picture from Ivy/Drizella, is super excited over this tangible bit of proof. But when she realizes that her father and adoptive grandmother are still skeptical, she decides to try and locate the Storybook, remembering how touching the book helped restore Emma’s memories at the end of S1, as well as the amnesiac Henry’s memories during the Wizard of Oz arc. While her plan is a good one, she is forgetting one crucial element. Simply touching the book isn’t enough. You have to be open to believing, too. But in the end, it doesn’t really matter, as she’s unable to locate the Storybook in her mother’s closet.

However, Roni/Regina ends up following Lucy to make sure she doesn’t get into any real trouble. And let’s face it, it’s not far-fetched to think she might do something reckless, considering she’s Henry’s kid. Roni also speculates it might be better to just humor her for now, until she’s ready to accept that there isn’t really a curse. (Shame she didn’t take this approach with Young Henry in S1. Oh yeah, it was because she knew he was right and didn’t want anyone knowing that.) But I guess this leads to Roni admitting that she’d like it if Lucy was right, because her cursed memories have led her to believe that she almost adopted a little boy once, but the agency ultimately decided she wasn’t a good fit. And she would like to believe that she actually had been able to be someone’s mother. Roni also later recruits Weaver to find out if there was documented evidence of a Regina Mills adopting a baby boy from Boston, like Lucy claimed. At first, I wasn’t expecting Weaver to actually do what she asked, considering it was clear that he’s woken up and remembered who he is. But to my surprise, he actually came through and produced the paperwork that Regina once filled out. I guess Rumpelstiltskin is clearly back to his old tactic of seeking deals and favors, so he’s probably going to get Regina to do something for him on a later date.

Upon getting the copy of the adoption papers, Roni discovers that the handwriting of Regina Mills is identical to her own. But before she can have the time to come to terms with the incontestable proof that Lucy might be right, Ivy/Drizella swings by and gives Roni/Regina a drink that was spiked with some kind of potion she and Mystery Witch concocted using the dirt and flowers from Lucy’s Community Garden. This potion ends up waking Regina up. As such, she remembers something very important.

In the Parallel Enchanted Forest flashback, we see Regina is having a hard time fully accepting the fact that Henry has grown up. The scene in question starts with Henry and Parallel Cinder bonding while doing repairs on Henry’s motorcycle. (By the way, I did grin a bit when we see Henry still has the Tron lunchbox that he had back in S1 and is now using it as a toolbox. That was a rather cute callback.) But when some ruffians suddenly appear and try to start trouble, Henry and Parallel Cinder are able to fight them off on their own. Which also was a really cool moment, since Henry and Parallel Cinder were able to turn Henry’s tools into improvised weapons. It really reminded me of Snow and Charming, and how they were able to do the same in their fight with the heart-controlled Count of Monte Cristo.

However, while Regina makes an effort to act like she’s taking it well, it later becomes clear that she’s feeling that Henry really doesn’t need her anymore. So when she runs into Drizella in what I gather is supposed to be a magic junkyard of some sort, she ends up seeing an opportunity to take the young woman under her wing, especially when she finds out about the nature of Drizella’s relationship with Parallel Evil Stepmother. Basically, Regina starts to view Drizella as a miniature version of herself, since Regina also had an abusive mother. When she finds out that Drizella was born with the magic gene but was not allowed to nurture it, Regina decides to become Drizella’s teacher. While at first Drizella has difficulty in honing her innate abilities, Regina ends up making a breakthrough with her when she magically creates a rockslide, leading to Drizella instinctively stopping the rocks from falling. (At least Regina’s endangering herself in her magic lessons now. A pretty good step up from when she nearly killed Emma in 3x17.)

Of course, this is when Regina finds out that Drizella wants to use her magic to kill her mother, so she can finally be free from her. Regina, who apparently has finally allowed the message to sink in (how many times did she learn this lesson?), warns her against taking that particular path. She tells Drizella about how she once sought the path of vengeance by casting the Dark Curse, and how it didn’t make her truly happy. She states that the only thing that truly made her happy was Henry. (Did she completely forget about Robin? I seem to remember Regina saying she didn’t know true happiness until he came into her life. Make up your mind, woman!)

But this is when Rumpelstiltskin pops up, fresh from his time in the Pocket Dimension. Regina, I guess, has maintained enough reverence for her former teacher to have a little aside chat with him. Which I personally wouldn’t have recommended. Apologies to all the Rumple fans out there, but I’m afraid it’ll take more than just him saying he’s a changed man before I’ll start to believe it. I’m going to need to see him actually making a tangible effort at being a better man.

Either way, Rumpelstiltskin suggests to Regina that maybe Drizella was lying when she claimed to be working against Parallel Evil Stepmother, and that maybe Parallel Evil Stepmother actually wanted her daughter to learn magic. I’m not sure if Regina took his suggestion to heart or not, but we then see her and Drizella spying on Parallel Evil Stepmother via mirror magic. As such, they see her seemingly practicing removing Anastasia’s heart. Upon seeing this, Drizella concludes that Parallel Stepmother is planning to kill her in order to resurrect Anastasia. Because the only way of resurrecting Anastasia is by replacing her heart with the heart of another. Once again, Drizella begs Regina to help her kill her mother, as she believes that it’s the only way she can be safe from her mother’s plan. But when Regina tries to tell her that that’s not the way, Drizella runs off on her own.

Later that night, however, Regina manages to track Drizella down, arriving in the middle of Drizella’s confrontation with Parallel Evil Stepmother. Once again, Regina tries to talk Drizella out of killing her mother. But that’s when Drizella reveals that she didn’t come to kill her mother. Without further warning, Drizella proceeds to kill her prince fiancé. (Did they ever mention this guy before? I remember them mentioning that the prince Parallel Evil Stepmother killed in the first episode turned Drizella down, which is why Parallel Stepmother wanted him dead. But did they ever allude to this other prince before this scene? I have no memory of it if they did. Where are all these unnamed princes coming from?)

Anyway, it comes out that this was Drizella’s plan. She’d purposely darken her heart so Parallel Stepmother wouldn’t be able to use it in her plan to bring back Anastasia. And then, to further spite her mother by making sure she’d remain miserable, she plans to follow Regina’s example by casting the Dark Curse. Because she apparently completely misinterpreted Regina’s attempts at explaining why it was a bad thing.

So let me get this straight. This means that this whole mess with the new curse, and Henry believing that he’s a failed writer who lost his wife and daughter in a fire, is pretty much Regina’s fault. And if she had just stayed at home instead of tagging along on her son’s adventure, none of this would have happened. Okay, maybe I’m not quite being fair to Regina here. It’s not as if she knew this would happen. And I suppose I do see a little similarity to how things went sour with Merlin and Nimue (because Merlin hadn’t anticipated how deeply Nimue’s anger at Vortigan ran.) But at the same, it’s like how the old saying goes- the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

Now, you’re probably asking why Drizella decided to purposely wake Regina up. Because you’d think having Regina awake would lead to her actively helping break the curse. But it turns out that Drizella is able to blackmail Regina. Because there’s some sort of nasty clause attached to Drizella’s Dark Curse. If it does end up being broken by Henry and Jacinda/Parallel Cinder sharing TLK, then something really bad is supposed to happen. Of course, they never actually state what this horribly bad thing is going to be. But whatever it is, it’s probably something to do with Henry, because Drizella is able to manipulate Regina into trying to keep Henry and Jacinda from falling in love. But the solution to this is simple. All Regina has to do is just share what she knows with Lucy. After all, she’s Henry’s kid, and it’s obvious she inherited a lot of her father’s best traits. If there’s anyone who can find a loophole to Drizella’s nasty clause, then it would be Lucy.

This episode also has a little moment that rubbed quite a few people the wrong way, myself included. It’s the scene when Regina is telling Henry about everything that happened with Drizella, and how she’s now planning to use everything Regina taught her against them. In this scene, Regina admits that she was feeling as if Henry didn’t need her anymore. To which Henry tells her that she’ll always be his mother, yadda yadda yadda. While this is a nice statement and all, it’s how he words it that’s the problem. He actually claims that Regina was the first person who loved him, and that she was the only one who loved him for years.

Okay, hold the bus a second. At times like this, I really think the show writers need to go back and watch S1 again. Because they seem to be forgetting that Emma had loved Henry, too. Even before he showed up on her doorstep. She loved him so much, she gave him up for adoption. It wasn’t because she wanted to give him up. It was because she believed that he would be better off being raised by someone else. It’s why she wouldn’t let herself look at him when he was born- because she knew if she did, she would change her mind. And she knew she couldn’t let herself do that, for Henry’s sake. She even made sure that he would be adopted, in order to prevent him from ending up in the foster system like she was. Because she didn’t want that life for him. Henry even stated in the pilot episode that he knew Emma had given him up so he’d have his best chance. And Emma only decided to stay in Storybrooke because she was having doubts that Henry was being properly taken care of. As for Henry’s claim that Regina was the only one who loved him for years? What about Archie, Mary Margret and Sheriff Graham? I think it’s safe to say they at least cared about him. Do they not count?

This is besides the fact that Regina was a horrible mother to Henry for ten years. This was the woman who mentally abused and gaslit him, throwing him into therapy and trying to make everyone, including Henry himself, believe that he was crazy when he started to suspect that there was something wrong with the town, especially since he was the only one who was physically aging. This was the woman who the show strongly implied left Henry alone all day on a regular basis so she could go off and spend the day having sex with the brainwashed Sheriff Graham. The Henry of S1 even stated on more than one occasion that he didn’t believe that Regina loved him. So you can spare me these attempts to make it sound like Regina was always this wonderful, loving mother to Henry. Because if Henry was completely happy living with Regina as you’re now claiming he was, then why would he have ran away and looked for Emma in the first place? You know, sometimes I wonder about that scene when Regina erased some of Henry’s memories in 2x20, in her attempt to make him forget how she’d just announced her plan to destroy the town and everyone in it. I wonder if she tampered with all of his memories, and not just his short-term ones.

Meanwhile, we also got a subplot with Detective Rogers/Wish Killian, who is continuing his ongoing search for this mysterious Eloise. Because Weaver/Rumpelstiltskin is on medical leave as he recovers from getting shot last episode, Rogers decides to seek assistance from Tilly/New Alice. Why? I have no idea. Maybe he figured that Tilly, being a street urchin and all, is in a better position to hear the word on the street or something. Either way, Tilly takes Rogers back to her home, which is located inside an abandoned boxcar. While they’re there, Tilly starts speaking in riddles and resorting to chess metaphors. Basically, she tells Roger that, if he really wants to find Eloise, he should take a closer look at which pieces he has on his side of the chess board. In other words, he should really study the evidence he already has in front of him.

On a side note, the sharp eyes of other viewers took note of the fact that there was a black rook and a white knight painted on the sides of Tilly’s boxcar house. Which I gather is supposed to be further evidence that Tilly/New Alice is Wish Killian’s long-lost daughter. While I will admit there might be something to this theory, I still find myself scratching my head over one nagging detail. If New Alice is the daughter, then why would she seemingly ally herself to Rumpelstiltskin, her father’s bitterest enemy? Considering Wish Killian is supposed to have an identical backstory to Killian Prime, up until the point when the curse was cast in Enchanted Forest Prime, it’s probably safe to conclude that Wish Killian also shared a blood feud with Wish Rumpelstiltskin, and would therefore hate Rumpelstiltskin Prime.

Anyway, on Tilly’s advice, Rogers goes back to scouring the few articles he’s collected for Eloise’s case file. This leads him to once again suspect Tattoo Guy of knowing something. But when he ventures over to Tattoo Guy’s home address, he ends up finding Tattoo Guy lying dead on the floor. So he’s still nowhere closer to solving the mystery of Eloise. Thankfully, based on episode titles, it looks like that’s going to be a major focus in the next episode. Hopefully, that will be good. Because after this episode, I really could use a good Wish Killian centric. (What can I say? The guy’s grown on me.)

Also, we did get a rather adorable bit with Henry and Jacinda/Parallel Cinder. Jacinda happened to see some pictures Ivy posted on social media, depicting the drink she shared with Henry. (So much for Ivy’s claim that she wasn’t looking to spite her stepsister.) Of course, this results in the cliché of the girl jumping to conclusions and giving the guy the cold shoulder without letting him explain his side of the story. But Roni/Regina, deciding to play matchmaker, sorta tricks Henry into coming with her to this pizza place (which included a Lady and the Tramp reference), knowing full well that this pizza place was just around the corner from the spot where Jacinda and Sabine were giving their new food truck a new paint job and whatnot. This led to an extremely cute scene when Henry pulls a ‘Say Anything’ move to get Jacinda’s attention. Long story short, he finally ends up asking her out. And we get to see Henry acting like a huge nerd when Jacinda agrees. But of course, we now have to deal with the fact that Regina is probably going to try to drive a wedge between them to prevent this horrible thing that’s supposed to happen if the curse breaks with True Love’s Kiss. So this might be a bit annoyingly painful. Of course, it would really help if we were actually TOLD what this big horrible thing is supposed to be. Hopefully, they won’t keep us in the dark for too long.

(Click here to read more Episode Analyses)

#ouat episode analysis #ouat 7x06 #henry mills #lucy mills #jacinda #parallel!cinderella #roni #regina mills #slightly anti regina #detective rogers #wish world!killian #tilly #new alice #victoria belfrey #parallel!evil stepmother #ivy belfry #drizella #slightly anti rumpelstitskin #anti regal believer

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a-nerds-ponderings-blog · 7 years

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SuperHero Low-Down

March 19 – April 16

SUPERGIRL

Season 2: Episode 16 – Star-Crossed (Part 1)

A new villain comes to National City, putting Supergirl on high alert. Meanwhile, Winn's girlfriend, Lyra, gets Winn in trouble with the law. Maggie attempts to help Winn but old loyalties get in the way. The Music Meister attacks Supergirl.

What is the rule that is always broken in television? Do not keep secrets, do not lie… they always come out in the end. This episode is based around Kara’s discovery of who Mon-El really is, and her reaction to it all. Of course she is upset about his true identity and finds she cannot handle the truth. In his defense though, would she have given him half a chance to prove himself or change had he told her who he was in the beginning? It is somewhat a catch 22 in this situation. If he had told her in the beginning, her hatred for his planet and his race would have influenced her decision. But now that she knows of his identity and that he lied, she is even angrier. He was doomed from the start no matter his decision. The ending scene was very interesting and made the audience excited for the musical crossover with The Flash. That was certainly a treat.

Season 2: Episode 17 – Distant Sun

A large bounty is put out on Supergirl and aliens from far and near attack National City intent on taking out the woman of steel. Alex and Maggie run into Maggie’s ex-girlfriend, Emily, who is in town for a week. Hank gets an interesting order from President Marsdin.

First of all, the sub-plot with Alex and Maggie and Maggie’s ex, did not have to be in this episode. Yes t is good to ad personal plots to a story, but there was so much going on this episode, that it did not need to be put in. But having said that, it was interesting how Alex shrugged off Maggie’s past and said that she loved that Maggie wasn’t so perfect after all. That shows signs of a really lasting relationship. Having said that… this was a great episode. We see Mon-El actually making a decision regarding Kara, and we also see that she believes in him more than she thought she did. This brings them closer together and we see just how different Mon-El is from his parents after all. It will be interesting to see just what the consequences Hank will face for defying the President’s orders, and it was also interesting to see the final reveal of the episode. This should lead up to a really great season ending when the show comes back. All in all, this was a good episode, it touched on personal feelings, personal relationships, and for the most part had happy endings. But it also gave us some foreshadow for the future.

NEXT WEEK (2 week Break)

Season 2: Episode 18 – Ace Reporter

Lena’s ex-boyfriend, Jack Spheer, comes to National City to unveil his big breakthrough in nano-technology, which has the potential to eradicate all diseases. Lena asks Kara to attend Jack’s conference with her for support. When Kara sees Snapper in attendance she’s inspired to tap back into her reporter skills and questions Jack on his discovery, which ultimately leads to a bigger investigation that puts everyone in danger.

THE FLASH

Season 3: Episode 17 – Duet (Part 2)

Barry and team are surprised when Mon-El and Hank Henshaw arrive on their Earth carrying a comatose Supergirl who was whammied by the Music Meister. Unable to wake her up, they turn to Team Flash to save her. However, the Music Meister surprises The Flash and puts him in a similar coma, one that Team Flash can't cure. Kara and Barry wake up without their powers in an alternate reality where life is like a musical and the only way to escape is by following the script, complete with singing and dancing, to the end. This episode began in Supergirl S02E16.

What a cute crossover. This episode really fit well with Barry and Kara. It would not have worked for the Legends or for Oliver. Though we got some musical cameos from Malcolm Merlin and from Professor Stein. It really was just a fun way to cross over the two shows, but it gave us some depth. It helped to fix relationship problems in both shows that needed a quick fix as opposed to drawing things out completely. And as they said a few times in the episode “things are much easier in a musical” The troubles they had in the musical were compelling and interesting to see Iris and Mon-El as a couple. There was also an odd call back to early seasons of Arrow, as Mon-El was Merlin’s son, and his name was Tommy. It was an interesting wink to the past, and could it also be a hint for the future? That could be interesting. And as much as all the songs were catchy, who else was humming “I’m your Super friend” for a few hours after the episode was over. This was a really fun episode, and we got to see a lot of the cast from both shows exercise their musical talents… who knew Cisco could sing like that. It is odd to look at this week’s episode of Supergirl and the Flash, and then the heavy episode of Arrow. It would be interesting to see if this was done purposely, so the entire week was not heavy.

Season 3: Episode 18 – Abra Kadabra

The Flash battles Abra Kadabra, a villain from Earth-19, who makes him a tempting offer – release him and Abra Kadara will reveal Savitar’s true identity. Desperate to save Iris, Barry considers taking the deal but Gypsy breaches in to capture the villain for her own reasons and during the melee, Abra Kadabra manages to escape. Barry is furious that Gypsy interfered but Gypsy refuses to back down, forcing Cisco to take sides. Julian is still a bit cold towards Caitlin but when she is severely injured in a battle with Gypsy, he rushes to her side.

Talk about heartless. Abra Kadabra not only gives Barry an offer that he could not take without suffering heavy guilt, but the speech about “now I get to kill her too” at the end was horrible. It really made you nod when Gypsy took him away for his execution. Poor Cisco, he can never catch a break when it comes to women. He was really into Gypsy, but we know his loyalties must lie with his friends, and the way she reacted, that was too much for him. The way that Julian and Caitlin were cold towards each other, we knew something was going to happen. And then when they started to rekindle their relationship, we knew the reveal was just waiting around the corner. The minute she said “I would rather die than take off my necklace” we all knew that Julian would not let her die, and that things would get a little “frosty” by the end of the episode. So now we have the impending doom of Iris on our hands, and Killer Frost’s return. It will be interesting to see what will come of all of this in the weeks to come.

NEXT WEEK (2 week break)

Season 3: Episode 19 – The Once and Future Flash

Barry travels to the future to find out Savitar’s still unknown identity in the hopes of saving Iris. Upon his arrival in 2024, Barry encounters future versions of his Team Flash friends, who, following the death of Iris, have become very different people, profoundly impacted by their showdown with Savitar. It will be up to Barry to infuse a sense of hope back into the team, as he proves to be hero his future friends have been waiting for. Meanwhile, back in 2017, the hunt for Killer Frost continues.

LEGENDS OF TOMORROW

Season 2: Episode 15 – Fellowship of the Spear

The Legends must devise a plan to retrieve the last remaining fragments of the Spear of Destiny from the Legion of Doom. They find themselves in France at the height of World War I faced with the knowledge that they must destroy the mystical object. They enlist the help of a soldier by the name of John Ronald Reuel Tolkin and find that the Spear is leading them into the heart of the war. Meanwhile, the team must all resist the temptation of the Spear, and the return of a former teammate.

Is this show trying to say that J.R.R. Tolkin got the idea for Lord of the Rings from the Legends? That was completely brilliant. The Ring Easter eggs were far too many to remember. One being that Rory’s heat blast was able to reveal writing on the spear, or that it had a lure to everyone to use it. It would have been perfect if someone like Ray called the spear “my precious” but it would have been too on the nose. This episode was not only entertaining for the Tolkin moments, but we also see that the Legends are not heroes, as they let the spear of destiny slip into the hands of the Legion of Doom. As the credits roll the audience gets a bad feeling for the following week’s episode, and we wonder how the Legends will come out of this situation.

Season 2: Episode 16 – Doomworld

After obtaining the Spear of Destiny, the Legion of Doom rewrites reality, leaving the Legends changed, perhaps forever. Frightfully, the Legends’ and the world’s hopes rest with Rory, but being the “hero” is not easy for him. Meanwhile, there is tension within the Legion of Doom and the reason why the Spear of Destiny needs to be destroyed is revealed.

And everything has gone to hell. It was interesting to see how the Legion of Doom had changed things. Luckily hey were not that different from the ‘normal’ world, except for no one knowing who they were. It was a little nerve wracking that it was up to Rory to save everyone. It made things difficult though, as he was the one who betrayed them in the first place. It makes things challenging, such as trusting Rory, considering he was the reason the Legion got the spear in the first place. It was ironic that out of all the Legends, Stein was the one who put up the most resistance to the memory retrieval. Though it was entertaining to see him as a lackie for the Legion, we were almost heartbroken to see him trying to thwart the Legends. This seems like the first half of the 2-part season finale, and you start to wonder how they are going to get out of this. Also, Rip making cakes was very entertaining, but really what do you do when you’ve given up hope? Luckily Gideon was there to slap him across the face.

Season 2: Episode 17 – Aruba

As the Legends are about to take off for their next destination, a massive timequake rocks the ship. In order to try and fix what has happened, they are forced to break the one cardinal rule of time travel. But if they are able to destroy the spear, they will face the ultimate consequence.

Every time travel show talks about the cardinal rule… do not go back in your own timeline. Each mythology has its own consequences and reasons why, but the main point is… don’t do it. In Legends of Tomorrow, we have something called a time quake, and they cause some major damage. In this season finale we see the Legends go back to World War 1 and try to intervene with their other selves and destroy the spear before the Legion gets it. But they are trying to do it without interacting with their other selves. But… in true Legends fashion, they fail miserably. Although technically they are aboritions, it was heartbreaking when tragedy struck part of the team. And all Rory wanted to do was go to Aruba for some drinks. It was interesting that when the two teams of Legends meet up, the former version assumed that the current versions were the Legion in disguise. Sara’s line of “ok, who’s wearing me” was certainly chuckle-worthy. This season finale was really well-done, well-paced, and well-written. It makes you beg for the next season to come back very soon.

ARROW

Season 5: Episode 17 – Kapiushon

Prometheus goes to great lengths to break Oliver. Meanwhile, in the flashbacks, Anatoly becomes worried about Oliver’s increasingly violent tendencies, which come to a head in a brutal confrontation.

This episode did a great job tying together the past and the present, with one final message to Oliver. It is the confession we waited the whole episode for him to give to Chase, and to admit to himself. How heartbreaking was it when he came back to the team and just looked completely defeated. It is difficult to see a hero fall, but one as strong as Oliver, defeated by his own truth… that was very difficult to see. It was also interesting to see that this episode was solely surrounded around Oliver, not the Green Arrow, not the team, but Oliver himself. It was a way to show who and what he really is. Or at least according to Chase. It was so heart-wrenching to see him broken and defeated. It really was a change of pace from the Supergirl / Flash crossover this week. It almost balanced out the silliness of the other shows with the seriousness and tragedy of this episode.

Season 5: Episode 18 – Disbanded

Diggle and Felicity are shocked by Oliver’s decision to call on the Bratva to help take down Prometheus. Concerned the Bratva may overstep, Diggle has a hard conversation with Oliver about what happens if things go south. Meanwhile, Felicity learns something shocking at Helix.

Could you imagine staring at your enemy in the eye and having to be polite to him, even though he just finished torturing you for six days? It showed strength, but also defeat in Oliver to have to do this with Chase. We have seen him beaten before, we have seen him injured and mutilated before. But this was the first time we saw Oliver mentally defeated. He wanted to end everything, disband the team and let Chase get away with his torture, all because he took the burden of it all on himself. Luckily for Oliver, Diggle is not ready to step aside, and neither is Felicity. This episode was really well-done, tying the past and the present together, also showing the more human side of Oliver… showing that he can have flaws too. It also reminded us that Diggle has been there with Oliver right from the start, he’s been around since Oliver started the crusade, and is not willing to give up without a fight. In the end Oliver sees reason. Though, it is thanks to Felicity who “discovers” the video footage of Chase as Prometheus. It looks as though we have a happy ending coming, but we all know this is Arrow, and we’re not happy unless something is going wrong. Only time will tell.

NEXT WEEK (2 week break)

Season 5: Episode 19 – Dangerous Liaisons

Oliver, Team Arrow, ARGUS and the SCPD kick off a citywide manhunt for Adrian Chase. Helix tells Felicity they have a way to find Chase but they will need something big, and illegal, from her in return.

Until Next time...

Thanks for watching

#supergirl #the flash #legends of tomorrow #arrow #dc comics #weekly review

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