#merlin is confused

[onceandfuturewarlqck]

something i think about too often is when Merlin in episode one asked Gaius if he were a monster.

another thing i think about too often is how Merlin was never good at healing magic.

so now i present you: Merlin thinking of himself as someone that can only destroy and hurt, and not heal. he knows he uses his magic for a good cause, to protect Arthur, but it is always about hurting people, about killing. whenever he needs his magic for healing, he fails. whoever learns about his magic, dies and gets hurt. freya. will. lancelot. gaius almost died multiple times.

i think that, at the end of the day, a part of Merlin is scared of people knowing he has magic not because of what those people will do to him, but because of what what will happen to those people.

i think that a part of Merlin is scared that he is a monster. Merlin knows magic can be good. he isn't sure if he is good.

#merlin #merlin bbc #merlin character analysis #character analysis #about men and monsters #yall think merlin wonders if the reason he is not good at healing magic but great at killing is that he is not as good as he wishes to be #merlin probably thinks he is cursed to loneliness #he is cursed to only hurt the people he loves so he hides himself #magic reveal where merlin just blurts this out #and he expects people to be horrified and scared of him #but instead everyone is crying #gwen has tears in her eyes #gwaine swears and then storms away in anger because he cant believe he hadnt seen how in pain is best friend is #leon looks concerned and in pain #merlin is confused #arthur just. walks towards him with the blankest expression on his face and merlin thinks its all over #but instead he hugs him #and he apologizes #arthur: im sorry you had to believe this #merlin: yo wtf #they all sit down with merlin and tell him that no #he is not a monster #they all cry #therapy time #merlin what if

[islenthatur]

Idea T_T

Jaskier was utterly tired, old and tired. He was the last one left after the conjunction, magic was twisted yet again, monsters dying and the Witchers… the Witchers died out one by one… Leaving Jaskier who survived the first and now the second, living on like always.

He missed Geralt, beyond words and emotion, there was nothing left to describe such pain.

Birdsong drew his attention out the window, a scowl pulling at his brows as he watched the people cheer and spit vitriol towards a prisoner, another burning, another false witch. He had stopped caring about things like that long ago, once he was the sandpiper in another life… now he was just a bitter old man who longed for those he once lost.

"Master Rivia?" A voice pulled his attention from the window of his home to the door, blinking back the magic that radiated off the boy.

A deep sigh escaped his lips. "If you are here for lessons then I'm afraid I will not help you, if you're here for stories then that is also a no. If you're here for herbs then tell me what you seek but I will not let you drag the soldiers of Camelot to my door, so speak and be gone, boy."

"You know what I am?" The boy asked in a surprised stutter, but the fear lacing in those words pulled Jaskier to a halt.

"Magic wafts off you in waves, you reek of it." He replied slowly, watching as the boy's eyes flash gold in a way that sent a pang of agony down Jaskier's heart. It had been so very long that he had seen the familiar molten gold of Geralt's eyes. "If you didn't come to me for magical means, then why are you here?"

"Gaius sent me to pick up his order…" The boy stuttered, hand fiddling with the red scarf. "How..?"

Muttered curses left Jaskier's lips as he flicked his fingers to slam the door behind the boy closed, another flick of the wrist set up a silencing spell, blocking all sounds from escaping the hut and from entering it. "That old fool, I told him I wanted no part in this! I just want peace! You must be Merlin."

"Yes, how do you know that?" The boy – Merlin – asked this time, less afraid and more determined. Ah, the folly of the youth.

"You are also Emrys that the druids speak of," Jaskier replied while ignoring the other question, watching from the corner of his eye as he prepared Gaius's order. The flinch was one he was very familiar with, a burden of a name that he did not wish to hold. "A Burden you don't wish to carry."

"Yes."

Nodding Jaskier turned and raised his brows as he came face to face with the boy. "The druids call me Reiðivonn, Rage of Hope. Ironic, isn't it? That the men who the druids claim to hold such power want nothing of their prophecies? This is what Gaius ordered, tell him to remember my warning."

"What name do you prefer then?" Merlin asked after he took the satchel of herbs, brows furrowed in confusion.

"I am called Master Rivia by all now… but once long ago I went by another name, Jaskier." He replied with a tired sigh, fingers flicking to open the door for him. "Goodbye Merlin of Ealdor, may your Path be safe this night."

#I really should be writing Mark of a Lark #the witcher fanfiction #merlin fandom #Merlin x Jaskier #Merlin/Witcher #rabidlittleplotbunnybastards #Gahhh to these rabid plot bunnies #Jaskier is done #Jaskier is an exhausted god #Non-Human Jaskier #Merlin is confused

[weaponizedducks]

imagine what the ealdor villagers must have thought of merlin. when he lived there they thought he was a bit odd, probably accident prone, on the outside, bit of a funny guy. he had exactly one friend. all of a sudden he leaves to go to fucking camelot of all places. why? stfu we don't need a why. they think nothing of it and forget about him.

IMAGINE THEIR REACTION WHEN HE RANDOMLY SHOWS UP WITH THE FUCKING PRINCE OF CAMELOT, THEIR ENEMY, FOLLOWING HIM LIKE A LOST PUPPY. I WOULD BE SHOCKED OUT OF MY FUCKING SKIN IF A LITTLE WEIRDO REAPPEARED HAVING BAGGED A PRINCE. NO WONDER WILL WAS SUSPICIOUS. WHY IS AN ENEMY PRINCE HERE. WHY IS HE HARDCORE FLIRTING WITH MY BESTIE. WHY IS HE SO WHIPPED.

#if anyone has any fics like this pls rec them #ealdor #god they must have been so confused #merthur #outsider pov #merlin #hunith #bbc merlin #if leon were here he would be sufferin #i'm tagging it #long suffering leon #leon the long suffering #will of ealdor #arthur pendragon #blue rewatches merlin

[pyjamacryptid]

So. I drew that “Arthur’s fished out of the lake” au of mine

edit: yes I know that boats like that likely wouldn’t fish on a lake, and that where avalon should be isn’t really a lake anymore - I promise I know this 😂 - the imagery of Arthur being fished out of a lake in a net was just too hilariously powerful 😂

#it IS a crack au lol #bbc merlin #merlin #it is so hard to draw Arthur both confused and displeased and lost all at once LOL #also merlin’s only awake that early because of his job #haven’t decided if he’s a teacher or a local doctor yet (this time around) #(in my mind he’s had many professions as many personas) #merthur #arthur returns au #crack au #arthur pendragon #merlin emrys #my art #comic #sketch comic #doodle comic #fan comic #fanart #bbc merlin fanart

[eldritch-ambrosia]

It’s a good thing that Merlin doesn’t ever push Arthur when he’s showing affection because Arthur would implode immediately if he had to think too long about it. Could you imagine the (deleted!!) sigil scene if:

Arthur: Just… take it. Merlin: Why are you giving me this?

Arthur: *sweating* Arthur: It’s… a bird. And you’re a bird. Merlin: …what?

Arthur: You know because… a merlin.

#bbc merlin #merlin #arthur pendragon #merthur #bbc merthur #merlin emrys #The “How do I express my feelings” quote from S1 is forever relevant #Merlin is either completely confused and oblivious or trying to give Arthur the opportunity to express his emotions #And Arthur is just panicking because he didn’t think he’d get this far #the way it’s so hard for him to tell his friends he cares about them #I blame Uther

[theroundbartable]

Arthur has established peace. (Magic was now legal) It's been a decade since anyone attacked Camelot and everything was at peace. It also meant that the knights grew lazy and new recruits stopped thinking they had to fear anything.

One day, Merlin proposes a game. He'll pretend to be Arthur's nemesis and the knights have to stop him.

Arthur agrees. He thinks it's easy. Because what power does Merlin have? Besides, his Knights could use the exercise.

Arthur underestimates Merlin big time.

Within a day, Merlin has single handedly undermined the entire castle. Kitchen staff has been hold hostage, which means no food. Weapons all gone. The animals are running wild. Sorcerers and Druids take out the knights within an hour (however Merlin had managed to get THOSE on his side.)

When Merlin walks into the throne room, everyone at panic, Arthur losing control over his people, Merlin looks calm as he assumes the throne. He sits down and forces Arthur to kneel before him. Arthur swallows hard as he realizes how easily Merlin has taken it all. Then Merlin says in a chipper tone: "I win."

... he hadn't even used magic.

#bbc merlin #merlin #arthur #merthur #games #no one is dead #they're all just very confused #concept

[tongjaitongjai]

An AU where Merlin is literally a God in Mordred’s eyes. Like, a genuine God.

In this AU Mordred and Merlin’s relationship is not fucked up by prophecy. So, everytime, kindhearted Merlin saved Mordred without hesitation. And Mordred grew up in a Druid camp that reinforced the idea that Emrys was a literal god. So naturally, HE WORSHIPPED MERLIN.

Once Arthur became king and magic was legalised, Mordred came to Camelot to become a knight because that was the best way to serve Emrys.

But when he arrived at Camelot, he struggled to comprehend the fact that Merlin was… human???? A very clumsy one, in fact. The rest of Camelot, though might know about Merlin magic, did not know how great ‘Emrys’ actually was so they were just confused, concerned, and/or entertained by Mordred’s ‘crush’ on Merlin.

He would stare at Merlin the entire first meal they had together, and people would be like: awww, Sir Mordred is crushing on Merlin so hard!!

Mordred: Emrys??eats??food?Food??Is ?eaten?by? Emrys?emrys?consumes?meal????

Or when he saw Merlin tripped on the training field

Mordred: i think the area is cursed. Strongly cursed.

Leon: what—

Mordred: THEN WHY ELSE WOULD EMRYS TRIPPED?????

Arthur: So, how have you adjusted to life in Camelot so far? Is there anything that is bothering yo—

Mordred: Merlin

Arthur: what did my stupid manserva- I mean Court Sorcerer do-

Mordred: I saw him drank water today

Arthur:

Mordred: He just drinks water????? From glass?????? Like?? He drank?? Water???? You know??? Literal water????????????? For drinking???HE??needs??water?to??live?why??

Morgana: why did I saw Mordred ran out of the meeting room screaming that you guys are trying to ‘Destroy his faith in his religion’. You knights better not bully him because he is a druid and has magic—

Gwaine: I told him Merlin is not here because he needs to take a shit.

Lancelot: Hey, Mordred, I noticed that Merlin has not received the note I asked you to deliver to him yet.

Mordred: But I already send it to him?

Lancelot:

Lancelot: Tell me how

Mordred: I burned it at the altar

Lancelot: what altar—

Mordred: and pray to him, as one should???

Merlin: WHY IS THERE SOMEONE SCREAMING IN MY HEAD THAT I HAVE AN IMPORTANT MEETING TOMORROW AT NOON!?

Or when they went on a long mission or hunting and Merlin, out of his old habit, made food for the knights

Mordred: ‘this is the most excellent food ever had bestowed on me, I shall never forget about this Emrys. I will pray to you even harder. I am the luckiest Druid to ever live—- ‘

Percival: … is the stew that good?

part 1| part 2 | part 3

#bbc merlin #merlin #mordred #bbc mordred #au #kinda crack kinda humour #sir mordred #merdred #merlin au #merlin bbc #incorrect merlin quotes #merlin crack #i edited this post a few times because i am not happy with many of my languages i am sorry if it cause confusionthe content is the same #i also keep adding stuff in the tag cuz new weird scenarios keep popping up in my head and idk where to put it #so again so sorry for confusion this might cause.. i trying to.. adjust to tumblr.. again #my post #cryptic god!merlin and no1worshipper!mordred au

[amariram]

Uther: you are not good enough for my son.

Merlin: you’re not good enough for your son.

Uther: excuse me?

Merlin: you heard me.

#protective merlin #i can see arthur blushing confused #merthur #merlin #bbc merlin #arthur pendragon #incorrect quotes #merlin fandom #bradley james #colin morgan

[euphoriaonpluto]

I'm in desperate need of an arthur returns fic that begins like five years after the fact, when arthur has fully integrated into modern society and him and merlin are married and living normal 21st century lives. only to out of nowhere get sent back in time to when they first met in camelot. so now they have to redo it all while pretending that they aren't essentially millennials with twitter brainrot going insane from caffeine withdrawal

#merlin #merthur #arthur would be such a whiny bitch about it im crying imagining it #“why is everything so uncomfortable to sit on. merlin can't you just magic us a couch” #they get lost on patrol and merlin automatically goes to take out his phone to check Google maps and then gets an aneurism when he remembera #people overhear them speaking in modern english and are incredibly confused #“i would murder a man with my bare hands for sugar right now” #elevators and escalators are mourned like loved ones

[ikol-art]

I'm not a writer so don't ask me for a fic, but

I keep imagining a scenario where Merlin is holding Arthur as he's dying, but with a magical grief outburst like Morgana's over Morgause. Except for Merlin it sends his time manipulation powers into overdrive and he ends up reversing it, all the way back to the beginning. I've read several fics where he time travels back, but in this scenario I imagine Arthur ALSO knows about it, because Merlin was holding him as it happened. Imagine Camelot at the very start of season 1 and only Arthur and Merlin have knowledge of the past/future 10 years. I'd imagine it would change quite a bit (they def support Morgana from the beginning, smuggle out any sorcerers because they don't quite want to actually murder the king, maybe Arthur and Morgana end up simply traumatizing him with their stances on magic idk, they adopt mordred and also hatch and smuggle Aithusa in, gaslighting everyone into thinking she's a bird)

Now Arthur has to do the whole 'keep Merlin's magic a secret' thing.. he's terrible at it, Morgana ends up knowing within 5 minutes

I would also imagine it would change the relationship dynamics, sharing 10 years with only one person is bound to bring you even closer together (yes I need merthur to happen here, but it could also be mergwenthur 👀 or if Merthur is endgame Gwen should at least get to end up with both Lancelot and Morgana, she deserves everything)

#again im not a writer so this is all youre getting from me #feel free to add on to it tho #or write it yourself #its free real estate #just tag me pls #I want to consume it #merlin #merthur #headcanons #how does one even tag this kind of post #confused artist noises #arthur pendragon #mergwenthur #gwencelot #morgwen #emrys

[thefabledpheasant]

You ever just sit and think about how the same shows that deny anything romantic between two male characters are the same ones that also write other characters in the show pointing out how weirdly close and romantic the two are?

I do.

#‘you confuse me for the angel who’s in love with you’ #especially the creators who are mean to the shippers #destiel #castiel x dean #dean winchester x castiel #deancas #dean x cas #dean x castiel #johnlock #bbc sherlock #sherlock x john #bbc merlin #john x sherlock #merlin x arthur #merlin bbc #merthur #arthur x merlin #queerbaiting #mine

[thatsrightice]

Before Iceman received his callsign his friends called him Kaz. So Goose and Cougar and Merlin? They knew him as Kaz first. On occasion Ron calls him Tommy but Ice always gave him an unamused look when he does, not that it stops him. Let’s make one thing clear, though, no one else is aloud to call him Tommy. Slider makes sure of that.

#Kaz #this is really important to me you have no idea #cue mavericks confusion like ‘who tf is Kaz???’ #tom iceman kazansky #ron slider kerner #nick goose bradshaw #sam merlin wells #bill cougar cortell #the boys #top gun #top gun 1986 #tom kazansky #iceman #top gun: maverick #top gun iceman #my boys #ron kerner #just a little thing I wrote

[poisonedfate]

bbc merlin - 03x03 Goblin's Gold

is it REALLY an episode of bbc merlin if merlin doesn't baffle arthur beyond belief at least once

#the answer is: no it's not #confusion IS a requirement #merlin rewatch #bbc merlin #03x03 #s3 #merlin #arthur #merthur

[inalandofsadclowns]

Not sure if I can ever forgive how they turned A Servant of Two Masters into a comedy episode. It started so well, they slammed the right path in the head in the beginning, almost as if they knew what they were doing: Merlin getting seriously injured fighting mercenaries, Arthur worried out of his wits for Merlin, making sure Merlin knows how much he actually values him, then getting separated again during another attack, Merlin disappearing, Arthur going mad with worry, cannot rest, cannot function, becoming blind to the court's possible judgement of him because he has to find Merlin - a stellar build up for either a hurt comfort or a purely dark episode which gets resolved in further episodes. And what do they do with it? Bog man. The comedy trope of one friend trying to murder the completely unaware other friend and the third friend has to knock him out with a jug. And Arthur never even learns what happened! There was pontential, I'm begging- Potential to pull Merlin's disappearance so long, everyone is convinced Merlin's gone forever - maybe except for Arthur. Potential for a Morgana to find out who Merlin really is AND to use Merlin as her pawn for a more impactful attack against Camelot. It could have been the magic reveal, if I'm being very foolish! They could have changed fates...

#the fact that Arthur never found out what happened #I'm just as confused as when Arthur never learned Gwen was under Morgana's influence when cheating with Lancelot #bbc merlin #merlin #arthur pendragon #merlin meta #merthur #morgana #enough you're going in the queue

[chelshiart]

In 2011 I drastically reduced my DWJ book intake to dripfeed levels, so it was only in the 2024 new year that I finally decided to read Deep Secret. My god - out of all her books this seems targeted at me personally? Stressed late-20-somethings, making fools of oneself in vicinity of fav authors, artist alleys?? Also, blatant unmistakable LGBT-rep??? I can't believe I slept on this one for so long!!! Definitely putting it on the upper tiers of my DWJ bookshelf.

Anyway, here's some designs I've whipped up for the characters! As always, might tweak 'em if ever I draw more in the future, but that's what's fun about figuring out character designs. Rob in particular is a joy to me.

btw Zinka plsplspls let me table with you

#diana wynne jones #deep secret #maree mallory #nick mallory #rob the centaur #rupert venables #will venables #simon venables #zinka fearson #ladies and/or gentlemen #i legit laughed out loud whenever the characters got stunned by them #like props to dwj that you can tell she was a bit confused but she did have the spirit #character design #also glad to say I've thoroughly revised my opinion of nick!! #first read Merlin Conspiracy back in 2009 and I remember being pissed because his backstory was so vague #the copy gave absolutely no indication that this was a sequel to another book #so finally getting context for all that was great and now i adore this eepy teen #(also reread MC after Deep Secret and boy I whooped at the one instance Rob my beautiful centaur son got mentioned by name)

[lavendersins]

our once and future king, ladies and gentlemen.

#king arthur #king merlin #arthur pendragon #merthur #merlin bbc #merlin #merlin emrys #still confused as to why his legs went that high #this scene will never not be funny #they were far too calm