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larluce · 4 months

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AU where Merlin is Arthur's familiar

Firstly, for everyone that doesn't know, in European folklore of the medieval and early modern periods, familiars were believed to be supernatural entities or spiritual guardians that would protect or assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic. They're almost always represented as some kind of animal, like a cat or a bird, sometimes a demon.

So, having that cleared up, how would Merlin be a familiar and how would he be Arthur's familiar of all people when Arthur isn't a sorcerer?

That's the thing, in this AU a group of evil druids or sorcerers find out about Merlin's identity earlier and his whereabouts while he is still in Ealdor. Not wanting Emry's magic to be under the command of some prophesied king and desiring that power to themselves, they kidnapped him and make a ritual to turn him into a familiar (a merlin especifically). They also erase his memory so Merlin doesn't remember he was ever human. Just when they where about to bond the bird to the sorcerer/druid leader to have Emrys magic under their command, Merlin manages to escape. He doesn't know who he is or where to go, he just knows he has to go far away from there.

Somehow, probably through his run away ordeal, familiar Merlin ends up in Camelot's castle, with an injured wing. He's chirping in pain when the young prince finds him in his yard.

Arthur: (covering his ears) Why are you making so much noise? Shut up! (looking closely) Wait! you're hurt? (picks him up carefully) I think your wing is broken. (Merlin chirps louder) Alright, alright! I'll find help. (runs as fast as he can) Gaius! Gaius!

The court physician bandages the bird's wing, but he can't take care of it due to his work, so Arthur does it. He makes a place for the bird in his room and feeds it. He tries to not get attached to it knowing the bird will have to return to its natural environment as soon as it recovers. However, after the bird's wing is healed, it doesn't want to leave, not matter how many times Arthur frees it in the forest, it always comes back, so finally Arthur decides to keep it. He has a bit of a fight with his father, because he never let Arthur have a pet, but after the bird protects the prince of a witch that was in disguise by stinging her eyes out, the king finally allows the prince to keep it. The prince, very happy, brings the bird to his chambers.

Arthur: (with Merlin in his forearm) Now the you're oficially my pet- (the bird chirps in protest) Well, my, eh... animal companion? (the bird deadpans) We'll work on that later. The point is, I should probably give you a name. (the bird moves its wings, excited) What about...bird? (the bird shakes it's head) Yeah, I've been calling you that from the start, so no. hmmm. What about falcon? Gaius says you're a falcon, though you're too small to be one, honestly. (the bird chirps, offended). I should just call you falcon or little falcon. No, it's still too long. Lil' falc? No. hmmmm. I think Gaius said you were a especific kind of falcon? How was it? Mar... Mer...Merloni? Merlon... Merlin! That was it. I'll call you Merlin.

Without knowing, Arthur just finished the last step of the ritual: naming the familiar, and with that, becoming the familiar's master. When the bond is created, a flash of light blinds him and, suddenly, the bird is replaced by a boy, who now is sitting on him, while he's spread on the floor.

Arthur: (looking up, shocked) What the fu-

Merlin: (looking down, confused) Arthur! Why are you smaller now? Wait... I can talk? (brings his hand to his face surprised) And I have... hands? Where are my wings? (panicking) Arthur, I lost my wings! And my feathers!(crying)NOOOOO!

Arthur: Merlin? That's.. you? Merlin? Mer...Merlin, shut up! (Merlin stops crying) And get off me! (shoves Merlin aside) How did this happen?

Merlin: You think I know?! Maybe that witch cursed me to be as ugly as you as a revenge for turning her blind. (sobs) My wings, my beautiful wings.

Arthur: (offended) Excuse me? Is not like you were a "handsome" bird either, you poor excuse of a falcon.

Merlin: How would you know, human with so little imagination that names his bird after their species?

After their stupid fight, they go to Gaius, in secret, of course. They can't have the king knowing the prince's bird was cursed. The physician does his investigation and, after Merlin discovers he can turn to his bird form and his human form at will and do some magic stuff, he concludes Merlin is, in fact, a familiar.

Gaius: Incredible! I thought they were a myth. It's said they're spiritual guardians of magic itself and that just the most powerful sorcerers could summond one and tamed them to become even more powerful.

Merlin: No... it can't be. I'm just a bird! I can't be a magical creature! I can't!

Arthur: (Knowing Merlin's scared due to his father laws and believes) Merlin. It's okay.

Merlin: (crying, almost hysterical) NO! I'm not a monster! I swear! I'm not evil!

Arthur: I know. Human, bird or familiar, or whatever, you're a good person. Well, a good being. Nothing is going to change that and nothing is going to happen to you, alright?

Merlin: (calms down) alright (snifs)

Arthur: But we need you to remember. Do you have any memory of you being anything but a bird?

Merlin: No, I've always been a bird. Although... (thoughtful) I don't... remember being a chick before.

Arthur: A what?!

Gaius: He means a baby bird.

Arthur: Oh, right (blushes). I knew that.

Merlin: Yeah, my very first memory is just before I came to Camelot, when... I was trap in a... cage. (he trembles at the memory) There were humans with capes, I think. They said they wanted to... control me, to had me at their mercy. I don't know what they wanted to do with me but I escaped. I thought I wouldn't make it. (with tears in his eyes) I was.. so scared.

Gaius: They must be the sorcerers that summonded you.

Merlin: Great. So not only I'm some magical entity but I'm sorcerer's slave now?

Arthur: (fiercely) You are NOT a slave! You are... ("mine" he is about to say, but stops) your own.

Merlin: (suddenly scared) What if they look for me?!

Arthur: I won't let them take you. I promise.

Gaius: And I don't think you have to worry about being some sorcerer's slave, Merlin. If you were bonded to one, you wouldn't have been able to escape in the first place.

Merlin: That means... (hopeful) I'm free?

Gaius: And in Camelot where magic is forbidden, so you're safer as you can be. You'll just have to keep pretending you're a bird, if that's not a problem with you.

Merlin: I'm completly fine with that.

Arthur: (joyful) And me! (composes himself) I mean, I like him better when he can't talk. (Merlin frowns at him)

Times goes by. At first, Merlin stays in his bird form and tries not to do magic, because, apparently he's been doing magic all this time without knowing (honestly, how was he supposed to know all the things he accidentally broke or dirt in Arthur's room were repaired and cleaned by him? He just thought Arthur has very efficient servants!). But it becomes impossible, not only because not doing magic makes him sick, but Arthur keeps running into danger time and time again, so he has to use magic to protect him. Arthur scolds him everytime he does that, he doesn't want his friend to be discover, but eventually it becomes rutine. Also, Merlin starts to take his human form more and more frecuently, because he needs Arthur to understand him, sometimes to give him a piece of his mind, to warn of some danger he finds out, or simply to cheer him up when he's sad or pass time.

Merlin: Is magic really evil? (he looks at his hands)It doesn't feel evil when I use it.

Arthur: How does it feel to you?

Merlin: It feels like... flying (he smiles and closes his eyes) So natural and beautiful, like the earth under my feet and the wind moving my feathers. And I feel it everywhere, not just inside me, but in every living thing. In every flower that blooms, every pup and chick that is born. Even in you. It's suppose to corrupt you, but instead of feeling wrong, I feel so good and... so alive.

Arthur: (looks at him for a moment, completely in love and then composes himself) I don't believe magic is evil. Not anymore.

Merlin: (open his eyes, surprised) Why's that?

Arthur: At first I thought you were an exception to the rule, but then Morgana-

Merlin: (even more surprised) She told you?!

Arthur: (just as surprised) You knew?!

Merlin: I could feel the magic inside her (he admits, guiltily). I wanted to be wrong. She's one of the kindest human I know, but then I saw her doing magic and... I just couldn't tell you. It wasn't my secret to tell, I'm sorry.

Arthur: It's alright. I understand. (he sighs) She was... so scared, Merlin. She begged not to tell my father, like I could ever do that (he laughs dryly). And she didn't learn magic, she just have it. She didn't even know she was a sorcerer until recently.

Merlin: Oh... (thoughtful) That explains a lot of things.

Arthur: What do you mean?

Merlin: Morgana isn't the only one, I think. Sometimes I fly around and I feel people with magic inside them. Some of them are evil, so I call you, but there are others that just do minor stuff, like healing spells and potions. But there are other too that… don't do magic at all and yet… the magic inside them is so strong. I thought maybe I was seing the potential of magic, but now…

Arthur: (in heavy realisation) So it's true. My father's been killing innocent people all this time.(with tears rolling down his eyes) I've been killing innocent people all this time.

Merlin: (hugging and comforting him) No! Arthur you did nothing wrong. You didn't know.

Arthur: (crying and hugging tightly in return) I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!

Aaaand that's it. I don't know what else could happen. Apart of merthur getting together obviously. There would be a lot of pinning and confused feelings. Arthur first meets Merlin as a bird after all, so accepting he has a crush on his bird friend is not going to be easy. The same goes to Merlin. Lets not talk about when they both discover they're bonded and Arthur could technically control Merlin and use Merlin's magic at his will if he wanted. And I guess at some point the evil sorceress/druids would try to get Merlin back. And then Merlin finding out he was human before and has a mother in ealdor… Damn that's a lot of angst.

Anyways, I still have a couple of fics on going so I don't think I'm going to write this anytime soon... or ever. So if anyone wants to write it feel free to do it. Or just comment any ideas you have for this concept/prompt below so I can keep them in mind if I write it in the end.

EDIT: I DID A PART 2, GUYS!!! -> LINK

#merthur #merlin bbc #bbc merlin #merlin #arthur and merlin #merlin and arthur #merlin fanfic #merlin fic #merthur prompt #merlin prompt #merthur fic #merthur fanfic #concept #king arthur #arthur #merlin x arthur #arthur pendragon #merlin emrys #Merlin as Arthur's familiar/Arthur's shapeshifter falcon AU

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enchanted-blade · 1 month

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Ensnared

Fill for @merlinmicrofic March prompt: 'vulnerable/vulnerability' Merlin/Arthur, cw: butchery/hunting, 100 words. ao3

Arthur’s knife glints, and Merlin watches as he cuts open the splayed rabbit’s belly, revealing innards, dark flesh. It is deftly done.

Merlin doesn’t regret his earlier clumsiness. He has been both rabbit and deer, and he sympathises with their plight. Arthur calls him sentimental, a helpless bleeding heart, but Merlin has been predator too, has relished hot blood on his beak, and the falcon in him – that hypocrite – secretly savours Arthur’s skill. What can’t the hunter catch?

On darkest nights, Merlin imagines these limbs snared tight. He bares his throat: Arthur’s blade is cold where it kisses his pulse.

#idk why ao3 says it's 101 words!! I counted myself to be sure lmao #merlin #arthur pendragon #shapeshifter!merlin haunts my dreams

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spacemancharisma · 1 year

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never in my life have I in any way given a shit about a fanchild but by god @toadscools caught me off guard at 3am and got me to invent this boy. his name is Loch, they found him in the lake, he is absolutely an actual fae child, and he is sustained by creating problems for others. I love him.

#he looks Exactly like merlin #because he fuckin. changeling shapeshifted into him as a baby and never went back #BUT #and this is so important #he calls arthur da but will only refer to merlin by name #this causes a great deal of confusion for others #also I cannot stress enough how good of a dad arthur is I cannot impress that deeply enough on you #oh yeah also- lancelot is constantly trying to bond with him about being Lake Boys. it does not take.#personal #spaceman.art #spaceman.merlin #merlin #merthur #fankid #arthur pendragon #bbc merlin #merlin bbc

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themanwhomadeamonster · 6 months

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oh my GOD i deleted my rant by accident im gonna cry lemme try to remember what i wrote but tl;dr not really a theory but me trying to arrange my understanding of albrecht and tmitw

i title this: wallbrecht is everything everywhere all at once

also i wrote this at 5-6am and didnt sleep so shit's probably messy

ok so a major theme in warframe that recurrs in warframe is the loss of identity or sense of self. natah/lotus/margulis, erra becoming pazuul, teshin being controlled by the worm queens, the operator dissociating and believing they're our warframe, then the operator losing themselves to the worm queen and the operator (+rell) confusing ourselves with tmitw himself , the drifter in duviri, warframes themselves losing their sense of self (umbra at some point, and potentially arthur and aoi down the line), albrecht worrying who really left the void dimension, the remaining entrati family themselves!. we're also told many times that the void gives but it also takes, and that it's heavily influenced by strong emotions

in cosmic horror stories usually the horror is a representation of something else. in lovecraft's works it's often his disgust with people of colour, viewing them as something completely alien. in bloodborne part of it is the fears of pregnancy and dealing with offspring. i haven't played darkest dungeon but i've heard that it's about trauma and how the overwhelming traumatic events become too much to bear that people go mad. in the lighthouse, part of the horror is that people will fight and kill just to know the truth, or what they believe to be salvation

so i think albrecht's horror was his fear of losing his identity. we knew from the clock's archives that his experiments hadn't been going well prior to the bell incident. he was losing respect as an archimedian, maybe he lost respect as a father and husband too. i think a lot of us theorise already that albrecht IS the man in the wall, not a doppelganger like tmitw literally was with the operator. but tmitw being omnipresent means that they can freely simultaneously be and not be other people, the paradox of eternalism. albrecht is now the void, he knows every timeline and every outcome and potentially every person (except operator/drifter because they're already void in multiple senses of the word) but he is also still one human. the human mind can't reconcile knowing everything, that's just madness. lucky that kids aren't as self aware as adults!

the void isn't evil nor good. it gives and takes merely because that's the way the universe works, very vaguely dare i say the law of conservation in (a very sci-fi way) action. the void is in the grand scheme of things is just a natural phenomenon of the universe. but the overwhelming emotion present during the 10-0 accident (if that even was an accident) and albrecht's own experiment just happened to be fear, so the void literally embodied the concept of fear and became a person, vecause that's just what the void does. it became an unknowable being behind a veil just beyond our perceptive reality that understands the plights of humanity a little too well. it could have manifested into something friendly and offered us and albrecht a deal in a polite way if the circumstances were right but it wasn't. tmitw is a manifestation of the void so whether the man - albrecht - wanted to or not, he had to approach our operator in their greatest moment of fear. what he did have a choice in, though, was to offer a deal. and what better way to secure a time loop, multiple ones even, that will guarantee your becoming wally than to be a time-space hopping entity who can exploit a bunch of scared kids who didn't know any better.

i don't know what we'll be using the vessel for but i don't think we'll be using it to fight a giant wall (and if we are it won't be the climactic final fight). i don't think we'll ever overcome the void, and we don't need to. the void just is. but the man in the wall literally is just a man. and i know people dunk on bad cosmic horror when the spooky thing is actually just a person or has sympathetic motivations but i think here warframe may be able to pull it off well. it's a cosmic horror that's made life miserable over multiple lifetimes, but the horror simultaneously is just a victim partially of his own doing because the cosmic horror never was alien, it's just a person who's scared of losing himself, just like the lotus was and just like our operator was. the cosmic horror IS the person in the stories who faced the horrors, who faced themselves in the seriglass bell - all it took to differentiate us and albrecht was an *accident* (though at this point it was probably intentional)

we need to confront albrecht/the man in the wall and try to stop his madness. but like many cosmic horror stories go, i think he's trapped no matter what. he'll either overcome his fear of losing himself and become one with the void, leaving us for good, or he'll try to return to gomaitru. but the fact that he's not the same as he was before and neither is gomaitru, with what he's seen and experienced as tmitw will be so maddening that he'll have to leave for the void once again in a suicide mission if he still can't reconcile with *what he is* now. in true cosmic horror fashion we will probably never fully know his motivations till the end, being a greater being than our scope of thinking - and with eternalism in place, maybe albrecht reconciling with himself was what already happened back in the seriglass bell

#warframe #wf albrecht #wf the man in the wall #wf tmitw #long post #now do u see why i call it wallbrecht is everything everywhere all at once.#also i have more Thoughts about how albrecht and arthur may know each other #albrecht entrati is not immune to the this is what you are mantra (for worse)#albrecht seems to have parallels with merlin in the tales of king arthur - he's a prophetic being born of a human and demon (void devilry)#for one there's the name symbolism: arthur as in king arthur and albrecht which means noble #and serves as arthur's advisor. kalymos seems to think fondly of arthur so i don't think they're entirely antagonistic towards each other #i think albrecht like merlin is guiding arthur to something and i think that may be albrecht's own demise #merlin could forsee his betrayal but couldn't do anything to stop it. albrecht i think either wants it to happen so the madness ends #or he's just as powerless to do anything about it #there's also the shapeshifting thing which both do #but that's just me spitballing i don't have anything to back it up

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sneakyboymerlin · 1 year

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When ☁️ merlin rains on Arthur does he pee or cry?

It’s a little bit of both to be honest

#I’m pretty sure this ask is over a year old #cloud!merlin #shapeshifter!merlin #merlin emrys #bbc merlin

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thepinkseat-askthemoonbunny · 2 years

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Based on an old Arthurian short I wrote (and the idea from both a reader and a dear friend of mine), I thought about an alternate means for Arthur’s conception.

Merlin is a shapeshifter in a lot of the old stories and I believe many of us can agree that it’s criminally underutilized. I wrote a short story where Merlin takes Igraine’s form and fucks Uther to make him calm his tits and prevent all out war (I headcanon Uther and Merlin as lovers anyway), but what if he conceived Arthur while in that form? He goes to change back to his normal form and discovers that oh shit, he can’t…and it’s because he’s going to have the magic prophecy baby.

#tw: mpreg #i think #does it really count if they’re a shapeshifter #just some whack theory I had #merlin #myrddin #i love this crazy bastard man #Arthuriana has no canon so I can make up what I want #for the most part #Uther pendragon #King Arthur #Arthuriana #Arthurian legend #Igraine #igerne #ygraine

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justaz · 3 months

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was thinking about merlin’s shifting into various animals to wake arthur up post legalizing magic (happy ending edition) so arthur wakes up to a purring kitten on his chest or a dog doing those super heavy taps on his stomach that feel like he’s being stabbed or a goat chewing up his bedsheets AND THEN i started thinking about pre legalizing magic (? edition) where merlin shifts into a super soft and cuddly cat to con arthur into letting him sleep on the super soft bed for all the hard work he does. it’s fair compensation he thinks.

#lbr #all i’m imagining is arthur curled up with a purring kitty #i’m ngl #LMAOO #but make it merthur #bbc merlin #arthur pendragon #merlin emrys #shapeshifter merlin (?)#hc #headcanon #head canon

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lalalalupia · 4 months

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H.N.Y TO 2024! THE YEAR OF DRAGON. WISH PENDRAGON STAY WITH US.

#merthurart #merthurfanart #merthur fanart #arthur bbc #merlin bbc #merthur #fanart #arthur x merlin #HNY2024 #shapeshifter!merlin #shapeshifter #shapeshift!merlin #dragon!merlin

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weaponizedducks · 2 months

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platonic relationships are so much more important to me than romantic relationships. maybe i started it for the gays but it stuck with me because of the found family, the mlm wlw solidarity, the friendships, the bitchy friends, the FOUND FAMILY of it all

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larluce · 2 months

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Merlin as a Arthur's familiar/Arthur's shapeshifter falcon AU

Tagging @ww1301 , @dsabian , @theroundbartable , @theplatanitosqueal , @stressed-but-chill , since you loved the concept and wanted more ❤️

For more context. Link to the other parts here → PART 1 , PART2 (You're here), PART3

Arthur and Merlin are eating quietly in this sort of picnic they’re having. Though he started this tradition between them to make Merlin eat more human food, Arthur really just enjoys passing time with his bird friend in his human form.

Merlin: (with food still on his mouth, casually) Arthur, can we mate?

Arthur: (coughs, almost shocking on his drink) What?! 😳

Merlin: Can we mate?

Arthur: (still processing) You... Where is this coming from?

Merlin: My friends believe it's time I mate with someone.

Arthur: (finally understanding and sighs) You mean your bird friends?

Merlin: (Nods and takes another bite of his food) They think it's weird I haven't mate with any bird yet. Apparently it's important I do it before I get too old.

Arthur: Too old? Merlin, you're 16!!

Merlin: How do you know? I don't even know how old I am.

Arthur: I don't, but you look younger than me. So you must be at least 16.

Merlin: Do you want to mate or not?

Arthur: Do you even know what mating is?!

Merlin: Sex. I'm not an ignorant and I had a lot of proposals from other merlins, even before arriving Camelot.

Arthur: (feeling jealous and ridiculous cause he's jealous of some birds? Really?) Then why do you want to do it with me? Why not some of your bird friends?

Merlin: (blushing a little) I don't... like them like that.

Arthur: (in shock for a second, but then smirks) You find me attractive?

Merlin: (dismissively, but still blushing) For a human, yes. And I'm half human too. I think. So mating shoudn't be a problem.

Arthur: (screaming inside cause he's been having feelings for Merlin for a while though he's still in denial, but still weirded out with the situation) Well, I'm... really flattered... I guess. I also find you very attractive for a.. half-human-half-bird-magical-entity. But I don't want you to do this just because your bird friends told you to or because you think you "have to". The first time you do this should be with someone you love and trust and when you're ready to do it.

Merlin: (confused) But... I do trust you.

Arthur: But you don't love me.

Merlin: I do!

Arthur: I mean in a romantic sense, Merlin.

Merlin: Oh... (thougthful for a moment) I don't know. Birds normally don't care about that, They just mate. I don't know how romantic love is supposed to feel.

Arthur: (to himself) I need to get you more human friends.

Merlin: But you're right. I'm not ready for mating. And, since we're both male, I don't know who's suppose to do the flying dance to the other in order to mate. I guess it would be me, cause you don't have wings.

Arthur: I need to get you more human friends asap!

#merlin bbc #bbc merlin #merlin #merthur #merlin fic #merlin prompt #merlin fanfic #merthur fic #arthur and merlin #merlin and arthur #merthur fanfic #merthur prompt #Merlin as Arthur's familiar/Arthur's shapeshifter falcon AU

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