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the-king-and-the-druidess · 2 months

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Faun's "Fire" for Mordred x Morgana: a song analysis

This song sounds like the soundtrack literally created for them and for their struggle from the first to the last season. The energy, the rebel rage, the Celtic melodic motifs, everything. Even the way the stronger woman lead opens the love lines before the man lead followed, their voices so fitting.

Mordred:

When I saw you again, you were on the run

Fleeing danger and pain

Morgana was the most famous Camelot's outcast and the number of her enemies was huge. If something's ever united Albion it was the hatred for her and the Old Ways. Mordred, too, had experienced the death of every people he considered his family and probably was enslaved and exploited himself before he ascended the higher position. Just like Morgana, terror made him cruel.

I had no choice but to follow you

Though your beauty could have been my bane

Morgana was the one left for Mordred, the one who has offered the other way. And, as has been foretold, they were destined to come together, for magic had chosen them to bring judgment to the land. Morgana was Mordred's bane, because her kind and warm beauty he remembered fondly since the better days was now darkened by the destiny they both followed.

No matter where they went, no matter how far they tried to run away from each other, there was only one final destination–to unite in the last desperate battle against and for the Crown. I love the fact that Mordred/Morgana were one of the three destined pairs Kilgharrah talked about.

Morgana:

With only foes in sight

You came to me and stood true by my side

May we two never part our ways

When gathering storms send mighty gales

The first time he came to her was the brightest day among three years of darkness and crawling out into the light. Alas, then Arthur stood between them again just like in the past days when Morgana could have ran away with Mordred to the druids, but Arthur stopped them. When it seemed that everything had fallen apart and there was no love, Mordred finally came back to Morgana. He was no longer her foe but joined her side as her right hand. The level of trust and love she had for him was incredible.

Morgana, Mordred in the background:

But in this mad world where the only law is gold

Murderers are crowned and wise women are burned

In a world so full of fear that we tremble and hide

It is time for the dragon to rise

Alas, King Arthur barely was anything but a softer version of Uther for Morgana/Mordred and the magickfolk. But the time has come and the white dragon, their dragon and friend rose to help them in their desire to change this world.

Mordred:

My hand I gave to thee

And I vowed my blade to protect our dream

But it's us against the might of the king and his army of knights

The scene of them holding hands and uniting their magic for the stronger spell was amazing; only two of them against King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. Mordred has rejected his past doubts and fears as best as he could and swore on the dragon sword to follow Morgana, thereby becoming her knight, the knight of the Old Religion, the knight of darkness.

Morgana:

Our love can never die

Walk with me through fire tonight

Storms will make the ocean churn

Just one spark and all the land will burn

Their love and trust survived betrayal, survived enmity, survived everything, and Morgana still talked with him even when he was dead.

The purifying fire of the Goddess' wrath: the prophecy of Mordred Merlin received was fiery, Mordred stood among fire the same way Morgana did in her previous attempt to seize Camelot. Fiery imagery followed them, and their first move, the declaration of war was to burn a fortress.

Mordred:

As the fire takes, from flame will be regained

We sing farewell as we begin again

And in this brightest night

With the dragons a queen came to rise

Mordred's always loved uttering pieces of some cryptic philosophy, and here he reflects on retribution and the cycles. If Arthur will rise again then Morgana and Mordred would too, and the circle will be replayed, for this is destiny. But for now, the dark queen and her white dragon rise at Camlann.

Together with the choir of their people:

(You wanted fire?)

In this brightest of nights

(But now you're blinded by the light)

I kindled a flame so bright

(With the dawn of a new day)

No more haunted by the shades

(The past will lose its might)

In this fire they must fade...

#mordred x morgana #united in darkness #mordana #otp: on the wrong side of history

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thebookluvrr1816 · 3 years

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Adiós Avalon : Day 02

Best Foreshadowing

The words “I believe in you, I always have” contains an unsaid ‘always will.’ When Kilgharrah tells Merlin to ‘take heart’ which means to ‘have faith’ and ‘to believe’ he is basically imploring Merlin to never stop believing in Arthur. Merlin says in 4x13 “When the sword was thrust into the stone, the ancient king foretold that one day it would be freed again at a time when Camelot needed it most.” Just as one day “when Albion's need is greatest, Arthur will rise again.”

The fact that the Freylin theme is playing (4x13) is a clear throwback to Freya and foreshadows Arthur's wait in Avalon, (just as the sword was put to rest and resurrected at a time of great need.) and Merlin takes heart and believes and awaits his beloved king's return for thousands of years.

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panharmonium · 3 years

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@bloomiii asked: Hey! Do you think merlin actually hates Mordred?

Heya! I’m assuming this is a follow-up question to the ask that @once-and-future-gay sent me the other day, and I gotta say, I love this question just as much as I did that one, so thank you! :D It’s a great ask - relevant one, definitely, for Season 5.

I have kind of a lot to say about it, so I’m going to put most of this reply under a cut, but the short answer is this:

No, absolutely not. I don’t think Merlin hates Mordred.

I think Merlin hates himself.

I wrote in the previous post on this topic (which I think this ask is a response to) about the actual reasons why Merlin is in conflict with Mordred, none of which are based on personal dislike and all of which come back to Merlin knowing that he has to prevent Mordred from killing Arthur, not out of a selfish personal desire to keep Arthur safe, but because Arthur’s survival is supposed to be the thing that is going to bring peace to the land and liberate the magical world.

But Merlin, as I said in that post, does not want to be in conflict with Mordred. He likes Mordred. He says as much, to Gaius. He cares about Mordred as someone who shares his oppression, as shown in the beginning of the Disir. He agrees to keep Kara a secret from Arthur, at the beginning of 5.11. And Mordred’s philosophy - “the love that binds us is more important than the power we wield” - is literally as close to Merlin’s own as it can be. That is exactly how Merlin, at his core, sees the world.

Everything Merlin does to Mordred, he does for no other reason than that he thinks he has to. (And I discussed in that other piece how Merlin is not foolish or mistaken for thinking so, either - important to keep in mind.) But all of the things he has to do go completely against his nature, and by the time we hit the end of 5.11, I really feel that Merlin has descended into a pit of self-loathing that the show, because its ending is so poorly constructed, never allows him to climb out of.

Every decision Merlin is forced to make about Mordred makes him hate himself a little more. The decision to let Mordred die in 5.05 is visibly traumatizing for him. He takes no pleasure in leaving Mordred behind for Morgana in 5.10. And 5.11 is the ugliest, most soul-killing situation Merlin has been confronted with yet - he is torn between doing what he truly wants to do and what he feels like he has to do, when Kara comes into the picture. He initially tries to hide Kara from Arthur, because there is no part of him that wants a Druid to be captured and harmed, even if she was with Morgana’s forces. Mordred tells Merlin, “she’s one of us,” and Merlin agrees. “Your secret is safe with me,” he says (and those are sacred words for Merlin; they’re exactly what Lancelot says to him in 1.05; this is not something Merlin would ever promise lightly). He doesn’t betray Mordred’s secret, and when Kara is captured (through no fault of Merlin’s own) Merlin is the one who originally urges mercy, telling Arthur, “you’re breaking his heart/you’ll lose his trust” when Arthur claims he has no choice but to pursue execution.

However, after that, when Merlin learns that Mordred plans to escape with Kara, he boomerangs back to “he’s going to run to Morgana and then he’s going to kill Arthur and I am not allowed to let that happen/magical and godly forces have all told me that the entire fate of Albion and the future of magic all depends on me preventing Mordred from killing Arthur.” And so he tells Arthur that Mordred is planning to escape, ultimately leading to Mordred and Kara’s recapture.

But THEN, after THAT, when they’re back in custody - Merlin urges mercy yet again. He tells Arthur to “free them both.” He says, “How will one more death bring about the peace we long for?” Merlin does not want Kara to be killed. He does not want Mordred to suffer. He does not want any of this to have happened; he did not rat Mordred out because he wanted to; he did it because he truly believed (for legitimate reasons) that he had no choice. Like I talked about in that previous post - Merlin, at this point in the show, feels that his life has no purpose beyond the fulfillment of the destiny that has been prophesied. He has come to see himself as a tool, with no intrinsic worth or value beyond what he can do to ensure Arthur’s survival (and thus the establishment of peace for all people). He hates the things he’s supposed to do, but he literally cannot see an escape for himself. This is just what he was “born” to do.

Even as far back as Season 3 we see this helplessness growing in him:

You feel trapped. Like your whole life has been planned out for you, and you've got no control over anything, and sometimes you don't even know if what destiny has decided is really the best thing at all.

Merlin, in 5.11, doesn’t feel like what destiny has decided is the best thing. But he also has reached a point where he feels like he has to do what he was told. He’s seen the future. He’s been told by multiple magical and divine sources that Arthur is the Once and Future King who is going to build the “the world we dream of.” And so he does things that he thinks will enable that future to arrive (like preventing Mordred from running away with Kara), but because these things go so completely against his nature and cause him such pain, he then whips around and says, “Don’t kill her. Let them go.” He can’t help himself from slipping back into the kind of person he truly is on the inside.

He is trapped between his true self and what he feels is an inescapable duty. And every step he takes away from his true nature makes him hate himself more.

Kara’s interview with Arthur, where she refuses to repent her “crimes” in exchange for her life, has one of the most telling, devastating shots in the show, when she says, “It is not a crime to fight for the right to be who you are.” The camera, in that moment, is trained on Merlin’s face, not hers:

That is done on purpose. The cinematography is trying to say something. It wants us to look at Merlin and listen to Kara’s word’s and hear the contradiction. It wants us to recognize that Merlin is dying inside. The absolute MISERY locked down in his expression here! He has been forced to do things that seem to work against the very goal he’s been told he’s trying to achieve (to have the right to be who he is), and it’s been going on for so long that it’s shattered his soul. He listens to Kara being able to say that, proudly, without fear, and he hates himself for not being like her.

But he can’t see any way to escape the things he knows he’s supposed to do. So ultimately, at the very end, he does nothing, and Kara’s execution proceeds.

He despises himself for it, and when Mordred escapes and runs to Morgana, Merlin’s only reaction is a dull, hollow resignation. He doesn’t blame Mordred for whatever’s going to happen next.

He blames himself.

This is, yet again, another reason why the Merlin finale is garbage storytelling.

It makes no narrative sense for the show to give us 5.11, which ends with Merlin in quite possibly the darkest and most miserable, conflicted spot he has ever been in, and to then start the next episode with him having a raucous good time at the tavern. Merlin, after what happens with Kara and Mordred, is not going to be out laughing and cheering, playing dice, and making casual, tongue-in-cheek, meta jokes about his secret like it isn’t the most painful and soul-destroying burden he’s ever had to carry (“Ah, I knew you’d discover my secret in the end. There is just no fooling you, my lord!”). It is inconceivable for him to be out partying, after the previous episode. It’s insulting to me as a viewer, that the writers thought they could show this to me as if it’s an even remotely rational direction for the story to go, as if I’m not going ask “what the HECK is going on???” when I see Merlin gleefully stumbling home like a drunken frat boy, without a care or concern in the world.

There is ZERO tonal consistency between the end of 5.11 and the beginning of 5.12. It’s horrendous writing, and it’s why I continuously say that Merlin BBC does not actually end, it just STOPS - abruptly cut off after 5.11, with a slapdash two-episode finale tacked on, one which does not actually resolve anyone’s arcs, or address any of the central questions of the show, or follow where the narrative was naturally heading prior to that point.

Merlin’s arc with Mordred is what finally takes him to a place where he is irrevocably, inescapably confronted with the conflict that he has been struggling with from day one - how is he supposed to justify the things that Destiny is asking him to do, when what it’s asking him to do seems to be hurting the very people he’s trying to help? How is he supposed to reconcile his responsibility to his people (and HIMSELF) with an externally-imposed responsibility to protect Arthur? He’s been wrestling with this cognitive dissonance for years, and 5.11 is the inevitable crisis point - Kara is dead, Mordred has defected to Morgana, Merlin’s secret is OUT, and Merlin has never hated or doubted himself more. It makes no sense for the beginning of the next episode to show us Merlin living it up at the tavern. Merlin is tortured, at the end of 5.11. He’s dying inside. The next episode was supposed to be a natural progression from that moment, meaning Merlin should have had the chance to finally confront his conflict head-on, rather than having it all completely wiped away by the pile of garbage that was the finale.

The correct fallout from Mordred’s “turn” should have been a reckoning. Merlin never wanted to be in conflict with Mordred in the first place; he hated himself for everything he had to do, and I really think the end of 5.11 took us to a place where Merlin had finally been pushed over the edge; it was the last straw. The only correct progression from that point would have been change, and Merlin was finally desperate enough to do what he needed to do to find himself again and make things right, but we never got to see it, because the people in charge decided to completely abandon every complicated question they’d been pursuing, in favor of “actually Arthur’s the good guy and we’re gonna pretend we didn’t just spend an entire episode reminding people how Camelot is still an unjust place.”

I don’t understand it. The same people created 5.11, too. They wrote Kara’s righteous speech. They framed her execution as an evil, and they framed Mordred’s flight as something Merlin and Arthur brought upon themselves.

And then they did a 180 and dumped every ethical question they ever raised. They never let Merlin find his feet or hold his head up high, and I’m honestly never going to forgive them for that.

#the once and future slowburn #meta #the druid boy #replies #merlin S5

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the-lady-bryan · 4 years

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Untitled HP Arthurian Legend AU idea

This is mostly so I have my idea compiled somewhere that isn’t Google Docs or Evernote. I may or may not write on this idea, but it’s a good idea so if I never get around to actually writing it, then at least I put it out there for people to enjoy in some form or another anyway.

Each reblog is a different part stage of the AU that would be told as "tales" of a sort. And because each one is really fucking long, each one will have a “read more”. If this doesn’t work for mobile users, i’m sorry. But hey, at least i tried!

Anyway, on with the thing!

So basically it's this...

Part 1 “The Fall of Camelot”

Camelot was real. Of course it was because modern witches and wizards know about the great Merlin, a revered historical figure. BUT no one really knows what happened during that time because when Camelot fell around 280 years after the death of King Arthur at Camlaan, all records and such were lost, and in the two centuries after his death the magical population was hunted to near extinction.

The battle of Camlaan had nothing to do with a fight between Mordred and Arthur and in fact father and son fought on the same side against invaders who had already conquered the surrounding kingdoms. Morgana wasn't evil she just didn't agree with Merlin and the crown but didn't go out of her way to cause trouble until her eldest son was killed years after surviving Camlaan.

Anyway, so what really went down is forgotten and all records were destroyed, resulting in a lot of gaps that were filled in with myth and legends and made up rumours.

Okay, so. In this version, Merlin taught Mordred magic after he was brought to Camelot by Arthur to be groomed as heir apparent until Guinevere had their children at which point he would become Lord Protector I the event Arthur died before his children had grown up. Mordred was totes cool with this because he doesn't want to rule and wants the freedom he has as the king's nephew rather than his son. So nobody but Arthur, Morgana, her husband Lord Peverell, Merlin, and eventually Mordred himself know the truth and it stays that way for many years.

So, Arthur has this prophecy hanging over his head about this whole once and future king thing. And Merlin is this mysterious wizard with powers that are far beyond any other living being. He's fucking revered by the druids and various mystic orders. And it turns out he is cursed with immortality and has been roaming the earth for a thousand years because he gave into temptation and used a forbidden piece of knowledge given to him by the gods. The only way he can escape this date is to pass on that knowledge to another who is worthy of having the power, but also one Merlin believes will not use it as he had. He of course, ends up choosing Mordred, believing in his inherent goodness and nobility.

He teaches Mordred the powerful Charm of Making, which can give the user his hearts desire for a price. Merlin finds he cannot speak what that price is, so instead cautions Mordred never to use this power unless there is absolutely no other option.

The knowledge now passed on to another, Merlin is made mortal again. He is assassinated before Camlaan.

Mordred and Arthur go to battle. Mordred and Arthur are both mortally wounded. Mordred tries to save his king's life but none of the healing magic he knows is working. So he does the unthinkable and uses the Charm of Making, trying to will Arthur to live. Instead it heals himself and not Arthur.

Arthur's body is taken by Mordred himself back to Camelot. They get a priestess in to do the final rites and are informed that the gods have another date in store for the king. His body is to be committed to Avalon where his soul will reside with the gods and await the day of his return. Guinevere is not happy about this because this isn't the way things are done. Mordred insists that the do as the gods command. This causes a split and Mordred decides fuck it, I'll make sure it happens and the knights loyal to him accompany him. The queen brands him a traitor and Arthur's cousin through his father's family seizes the throne in Mordred's absence, branding him a criminal and wanted for treason.

Mordred does not return to Camelot after sending Arthur's body to Avalon and he goes on many adventures, befriending all manner of creatures and beings, going by another name - “Antioch” and taking the name Peverell from his mother's husband who had raised him as his own blooded son. One of the beings he befriends and has adventures with is Gringott the Goblin, who was kicked out of his clan for swearing an oath of brotherhood to a human after their many (profitable) adventures. Gringott ended up starting a band of outcasts who had been banished from other goblin clans and they continued their adventures before eventually forming Clan Gringott, which over the following 1300 years or so became the biggest and most powerful of the goblin clans in all of Europe.

Anyway, so Mordred eventually settles down after meeting a young Baron and falling madly in love with him, and the Baron in love with Mordred. Problem, the Baron is already married to a daughter of another Lord. A magic hating muggle Lord. After she births a couple of children for the Baron, he releases her from the marriage so that she may find love for herself because he never did and married her out of duty. He is also really chill and is like "I don't want our children to not know their mother. In fact, stay and I'll happily pay for your upkeep and anything you desire because you are my best friend and I do care about you. Hell, fall in love and remarry and you can have the castle. Me and .ordered will happily live in a mud but in the back yard." And Mordred's like "if you want I can even get like, servants and stuff for you. And you can live like a queen." But the woman's super pissed about it, rightfully to be honest, and plots with her brother to kill Mordred because he has magic. When she finds out the Baron also has magic, she plots to kill him, too.

Hell's fury and women scorned and all that.

So she hires someone to kill Mordred, and it seemingly works! Mordred is killed in a tavern on his way back home from visiting his mother and younger brothers Cadmus and Ignotus.

When word reaches the Baron, he kills himself in his grief, not able to bear life without his love.

When Morgana, old and bitter about Mordred's reputation in the kingdom after Arthur's death, learns her eldest son has been killed, she uses all of her magic to curse the entire kingdom of Camelot and the king's and queens to follow, with her curse gaining power with time and each generation until eventually 280 years later Camelot finally falls. The curse is so strong it takes her life as the price for such magic, and in the process her bitterness and malice transforms the Ruby stone she uses as her focal point into a stone of pitch black. This becomes known in later centuries as the resurrection stone.

So, Mordred used the charm of making and is actually immortal, having made the same mistake as Merlin and given into the temptation to use the knowledge without knowing what price he would ultimately pay. He is pulled into Avalon, regressed to the physical age of a newborn baby but still has all of his memories and mind intact. Normally if one with there curse is killed, they may take time to heal but they will return to life a little worse for wear. This did not happen to Mordred because of a protection spell cast on him by Gringott during their adventures. The goblin magic interacted badly with the curse and oops! Baby Mordred!

Mordred is found in Avalon by his father Arthur, who not knowing what to do takes him to the Lady of the Lake. The lady in turn calls up a council of the gods, to which the spirit of Merlin is summoned. Merlin is tasked with "fixing this monumental fuck up because ultimately it's your fault for teaching the boy the charm before he was ready to understand the power and the consequences of it".

So Merlin comes up with a plan to send Mordred back, but the cost of doing so is forcing Arthur's destiny onto him. Arthur was destined to return at Albion's greatest need and it's darkest hour, but Mordred cannot remain in Albion. And Arthur MUST return because you do NOT fuck with prophecy more than necessary.

And so ends part 1, “The Fall of Camelot”.

#harry potter au #arthurian legend au #hp au #fanfic idea #idea #writing

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mojoflower · 5 years

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Involuntary Invisibility

I’ve read a few fics with this rare trope, and this is what I found when I searched my bookmarks. Anyone know of any others?

and with thy lips dispell this curse by paranoid_fridge No rating. 10k. The Hobbit. Bagginshield.

In a word where neither the One Ring nor the Arkenstone exists and all survive the battle, Bilbo encounters a strange, magical creature while helping to evacuate Dale for the coming winter. He thinks nothing of it initially – but then he watches his own arm pass through solid wood and sees Thorin’s eyes widen in fear and call for him.

“I’m right here.” Bilbo wants to say, but cannot make a sound.

Not when he has been cursed to disappear.

My bookmark: Wow, turning invisible involuntarily is some scary stuff...

Invisible Man by shinkonokokoro T. 21k. Merlin. Merthur.

"You are capable of more?" "More? Your majesty?" "More types of spells. More brain cells as well?" "Yes," he hissed. "Protect yourself." "What?" "Carl, shoot him."

Getting captured by Uther doesn't quite have the results Merlin expect.

My bookmark: Lovely story. Modern royalty au, if you will, where, instead of executing Merlin, Uther makes him play invisible bodyguard, with a lot of emphasis on "You no longer exist." Merlin is terribly amiable, which is funny, and doesn't actually manage to keep his mouth shut when he bodyguards. Arthur creatively names him Voice.

In Visibility by cat_77 T. 14k. Avengers. No pairing.

He was used to slinking in shadows, hidden from sight. This was just ridiculous, really.

My bookmark: "Hey, I figured out several important pieces of data with this little adventure," he protested.

"Such as?" Bruce prompted. Clint knew he was in trouble when Mr. Mellow looked pissed.

"Sitwell is an excellent liar, Fury still has the Gameboy I gave him for Christmas like six years ago, and the World Security Council wants to carve me up like a lab rat," he recited. He considered it an accomplishment that he was able to get any words out at all the way Nat still held him in place, fingertips carving into his skin.

Tony leaned back against the nearby counter and mused, "We figured out some stuff while you were out too, wanna know what?" He didn't wait for a response before he ticked off on his fingers, "One, you're an asshole. Two, the field around you is shrinking. Three, the World Security Council wants to carve you up like a lab rat, or possibly a frog because I doubt they've made it past sixth grade Biology, let's be honest here."

In Plain Sight by oldenuf2nb M. 38k. Harry Potter. Drarry.

Draco Malfoy had stopped believing his wishes would be granted long ago. He could perhaps be forgiven for being startled, then, when one of them came true.

My bookmark: Lovely: the Board decides to do away with the Slytherin House and Hogwarts fights back. Meanwhile, Pansy is terribly injured by a curse and that makes Draco the last Slytherin standing. "He's the last," the voice tells Harry. "There isn't much time." Draco starts by using a disillusionment Charm, but it quickly becomes involuntary invisibility. But Harry's watching, and doesn't want him to disappear entirely. UST, although it isn't sex-heavy at all. There are some shining bits, however, like this bit, after Draco's injured and somewhat stoned: ******** “And that mouth…” he exhaled slowly. “Such a pretty mouth, Potter. Such a pretty, pretty mouth. Makes a man want to grab handfuls of your horrible hair and kiss that pretty, pretty mouth until it’s all soft and puffy and swollen.” Malfoy abruptly released the hold on Harry’s jumper and smoothed the bunched fabric with his hand. “I mussed you,” he noted, his eyes drifting closed and the smile returning to pull at his lips. “I mussed Potter. Although, Potter is usually mussed.”Harry was frozen in place, staring at Malfoy’s face, his heart racing. /What the hell had that been?/ he thought, finally pulling back. Malfoy must be heavily drugged. It was the only explanation for what had just happened.

Who said that? by coconutcranberries (orphan_account) No rating. 33k. Teen Wolf. Sterek.

Stiles has a very unique superpower, in that he doesn't exist. He's invisible, untouchable, unhearable-is that a word?-and just not there. He feels like a ghost most of the time, although he can't walk through walls (he tried, the wall took offense and his nose paid the price) and he can still trip over his own feet. He blends perfectly into the background and no matter how hard he tries, nobody knows he's there.

It's a lonely life, he's not gonna lie.

But suddenly something changes. Stiles is part of a group project which includes probably the most explosive combination of people in his class. These people don't notice when he waves a hand right in front of their face-how could they when he doesn't exist? The possibilities are endless.

Oh, this is going to be so much fun.

My bookmark: Such an interesting idea: Stiles' power is to make himself not exist... AT ALL. So from the time he's 8, he's vanished from everyone's awareness, all records deleted, everything. Only his dad can see him (and even that is periodically unreliable). But then suddenly, Derek sees him one day, which starts a chain of events that leads to him feeling hopeful once again about being able to interact with the world. It's kind of tragic, I mean, think of the loneliness, the skin hunger, the sense of abandonment involved in being non-existent for 8 years. But it eventually works out.

In Time of Trial by Shine M. 38k. Merlin. Merthur.

Uther fears his son's power, and Merlin has helped Arthur flee to escape imprisonment. Now the two of them must fight to regain Arthur's rightful place in Camelot.

My bookmark: Wow, what a fantastic story. 36k words never went so fast. This is the one where Uther's old friend Aelfric comes to visit and slowly drips poison into his ear until he's convinced that Arthur is going to try to depose him and take the crown. When he orders Arthur to be taken to the dungeons as a traitor (and killed on the spot if he struggles), Merlin races ahead of the guards to rescue Arthur. (Luckily, he's been practicing a spell that makes things invisible. Unluckily, he has to spring it on Arthur with no warning at all and convince him to be silent and still while the guards search his room around them.) And thus is magic revealed.The pair go on the run, and eventually settle near Tintagel, where all the Druids live, and begin preparations to fight back. Arthur allows himself to act on his attraction to Merlin (I'd rate this an M), perhaps because now that he sees that Merlin is a powerful warlock, he sees them as being equals. Also, there's no doubt of Merlin's loyalty, considering how they got out of Camelot.

Merlin's Moving Castle by KrisEleven G. 49k. Merlin. Merthur.

As a result of some very unfortunate decisions, Arthur Pendragon, king of Camelot, is cursed by Morgana (also known as the Witch of the Wastes) and becomes fully invisible to anyone who doesn’t possess magic. Forced to abandon his kingdom, he begins his quest for a remedy to his unfortunate condition and comes across the quite charming - and even more annoying - Merlin who may be the only one able to save Albion, if only Arthur can convince him to try.

My bookmark: What an amazing story. I kind of expected a rehash of the Howl's Moving Castle plot (which would have been fine, as I adore the story), but instead the author used only pieces of it and built something entirely new and totally belonging to Merlin and Arthur and their world from the show. There was a surprising amount of action (Merlin first meets Arthur during a fight and flight) and it culminates in an enormous battle. But in between, it's Arthur, learning to be patient and getting to know some new people... learning about the world through their eyes. It's just beautiful.

Beyond the Mirror's Edge by VivacissimoVoce M. 49k. Harry Potter. Drarry.

Harry Potter is dead! A spell goes wrong in Advanced Charms class, leaving nothing but a charred ring and a pair of empty shoes. Draco Malfoy must figure out what happened and try to bring Harry back.

My bookmark: interesting premise!The one where Harry is hit by a protection charm gone wrong and only his shoes are left. Dumbledore's Dead/Alive device only wavers with the needle halfway between the two when it's questioned, and no one knows where Harry is or how he's half alive. "The small wooden box with the life-death dial was mounted on the wall outside of the Charms classroom, with Potter’s shoes encased in a glass box beneath. The needle stayed resolutely fixed between the two indicators, but no one was sure what it meant."And then Draco hears, "Can anybody hear me?"Draco looked up and checked down the table. "Beg pardon?" he asked Pansy."I didn't say anything," she looked up in surprise."Anybody, please, if anybody can hear me please say something!"

Unseen by astolat M 11k. Harry Potter. Drarry.

When he wasn’t wearing it, he got jumpy, always waiting for someone to come at him wanting something—and now they did it even more urgently, if they ever saw him, because most of the time, nobody did.

My bookmark: #not involuntary invisibility#but i'll tag it that way#for my own purposes

What it says on the tin, really. Draco is the only one who notices that Harry has turned himself into a ghost and is "haunting them all before his death". He carefully takes the Cloak, just for 24 hours, challenging Harry to see if he can do without it. Of course, Harry's never heard a challenge from Draco that he hasn't immediately and fiercely accepted. But it's HARD. As Draco, in a weird combination of rude and kind, coaxes him through the week, Harry learns to be seen again, is shown how to protect himself, and finds himself falling for Draco.

we are tangled by drunktuesdays T. 6k. Teen Wolf. Sterek.

"Derek was at your house?" "For like ten seconds," Stiles said. "I'd say it was weird, but is anything about Derek ever not weird?"

My bookmark: invisible!derek!!!

Invisible by chappysmom G. 86k. Sherlock. No slash.

John had had the knack for as long as he could remember.

It wasn’t that he could become invisible, exactly. The laws of physics worked quite well in his vicinity, thank you very much. It was just that people tended … not to see him.

My bookmark: Invisibility not actually involuntary, but this has always been one of my favorites.

#involuntary invisibility #fanfic recs #mojo's fanfic recs #sterek fanfiction #drarry fanficiton #merthur fanfiction #sherlock fanfiction #hobbit fanfiction #avengers fanfiction

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imsfire2 · 7 years

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WIP meme

Do This: List all the things you’re currently working on in as much or as little detail as you’d like, then tag some friends to see what they’re working on: writing, art, gifsets, whatever.

I was tagged by @thenewleeland - thank you very much!

And, ahem, you asked for it...

(I will add a read-more after a bit, since there is rather a lot of this. Don’t panic...).

Fan fic – all Rogue One at the present time

In a dark time, the eye begins to see

AU in which Cassian is an artist and Jyn is sent by Saw Gerrera to model for him as a cover to get into the Imperial Archives on Corellia. Angst, feels, smut, action and drama. WIP – currently writing chapter 38 in draft, with the published text on AO3 now up to chapter 35.

Keeping faith

AU in which Cassian and Jyn survived Scarif and are still with the Alliance, but are separated during the battle of Hoth. Jyn is taken prisoner and then discovers she is pregnant, and angst and many feels ensue. WIP – currently on just over 9,000 words in draft with the published text on AO3 standing at just over 6,000.

Hot and wet

Rebelcaptain one-shot that won’t behave; primarily feels, not as smutty as the title suggests!

In your eyes

Rebelcaptain one-shot, a follow-up to A little more information (which was itself a follow-up to one of the Paths of hurt and darkness stories, On attachment elsewhere). Cassian is hospitalised following a suicide attempt, post-battle of Endor. Serious angst and feels.

The Hope of Lyonesse

Only just got started on this, basically it’s still at the planning stage, and it may be a monster as there’s a lot of material to work with. Rogue One/Arthurian legend/other Celtic legends mash-up AU. Cassian is Tristan, Jyn is Isolde, Draven is Mark of Cornwall, Chirrut and Baze are the last two acolytes of the Order of Merlin, Bodhi Rook is a character who fuses the roles of Bedwyr and Brangäne. Mon Mothma is King Arthur, and is a rather more active figure than usual. The Rebel Alliance is the seven Celtic nations, Albion, Cornwall, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Lyonesse and Galicia; they have a system of loose alliances and treaties cemented by dynastic marriages, and are trying to work together to fight off invasion on two fronts. The Empire is an unholy alliance between the Saxon invaders coming from the east and the magic-wielding Formorians of Hy-Braseal invading by sea from the west. Tarkin and Krennic are Saxons, Vader is the Lord of the Isle of the Torrent. Other SW characters being slotted in gradually. Warning: Do not expect a happy ending.

Captain Andor lives for a day

Only just got started on this, too! Total contrast to the above. A Rogue One/Miss Pettigrew AU. Late 1930’s setting, with jazz music, cocktails and romance for all. Expect fluff and feels with just an undertone of angst (because some of the protagonists are not stupid and are aware of politics).

Original fiction

The Bargain of Liberty (working title)

Just got started on this, so don’t look for it anytime soon! Especially as, being original fic, it won’t be going on AO3.

Historical fantasy set in a sixteenth century AU in which the Spanish did not succeed in conquering the native kingdoms of Central and South America. Consequently the balance of power across the world is totally different. In London, Dr John Dee has worked a great act of magic, the eponymous Bargain of Liberty, to ensure the freedom of his beloved sovereign, Elizabeth of England, and her people, and to enable her to marry her true love, her cousin Mary Stewart, Queen of Scots. A work of magic which has had unexpected ramifications. As our story begins, two British spies, Emilia Tanqueray and Kit Marlowe, and a mestizo Aztec sleeper agent, Javián Cuauhtémoc Sanchez, set out together to thwart the plans of the Inquisition. The Inquisition’s goals are to overthrow the Emperor Axayacatl the second of Mexico, and to send an Armada to invade the island of Britain…

Also sitting in my Dropbox, Pt 1: Uncompleted original fiction

The taker of daughters

This is a rewrite and expansion of an earlier Hansel and Gretel: Witch-hunters fan-fic. Significant character changes and hefty filling-in of background. A steampunk historical fantasy using characters from various ballet versions of folk tales, set in the aftermath of a great war between the High and Low Kingdoms of Faerie and the Middle World of Humankind. Main character is now Klara Stahlbaum (from The Nutcracker), other characters are her brother, who I’ve named Anton because I don’t like the name Fritz, a Firebird, an OFC who is a human/Firebird mongrel, the Lilac Fairy, and a pregnant giantess. The main antagonist, the Taker of Daughters, is Kostschei the Terrible. Currently at just over 77.000 words. I’m not sure if this is working, though. I’m having what I can only call tonal problems and struggling to find a balance between the darker and the less-dark elements of the story. So it may end up being abandoned altogether.

The Smiling Assassin

This was a NaNoWriMo project from 2014; a thriller about a retired MI6 agent working for a small London charity, who gets pulled back into his old world when a friend from the past asks him for a favour. It backfired at around 36,000 words when I realised the plot was not only derivative as all hell but also really sucked!

Fortitude

A Sci-Fi story about first contact with a telepathic alien species; needs re-writing a lot, but the basic storyline is still good.

A dream of death

My “no-zombies zombie apocalypse” story. Yeah, that.

Midnight in the Café Tana

An urban fantasy about a local government employee who is a practising witch, and her attempts to help her ex who has fallen victim to a psychic vampire.

Nohomer

A Sci-Fi piece mixing a love story inspired by Pelleas et Melisande with a background of social conflict between rich and poor in a far-off future of Rampant Intergalactic Capitalism.

The war is over

A Sci-Fi story inspired by the core ideas from my very first ever fan-fic, which was a sequel to Return of the Jedi written when I was a teenager. Key plot points are A) the Emperor is dead and the beleaguered Evil Empire is on the verge of losing the galactic civil war, looking for ways to fight back and sabotage their enemies, and B) any Emperor worth his salt is bound to have a son-and-heir tucked away somewhere.

Also sitting in my Dropbox, Pt 2: Completed original fiction

The Healers

A magic realist historical fantasy Western; a faith healer who really can heal rescues a member of the Jesse James gang from certain death and hires him to ride shotgun with her. They travel through 1880’s Missouri having assorted adventures, healing various people and one another and trying not to get killed by various other people who want to bring him to justice, while falling in love. Features lots of gritty local colour, dirt, violence, whores, blood, sex, angst and feels. I had a ball writing this and it’s probably my best piece of full-length original fic so far.

The Secret Country

Urban fantasy with people who have real magical powers/superpowers trying desperately not to get found out and caught by a government agency determined to make use of them as weapons. Flawed as a piece of writing, but quite an exciting read if you can get past a few sticky patches.

The eternal love of Gabriel Yeats

A slightly bonkers magic realist historical fantasy, featuring time travel, reincarnation, doomed romance and a lot of major character death. Very fond of this one too though it has its issues as a piece of novel writing – it’s much too episodic and has a big structural flaw which I never managed to solve successfully.

Ramundi’s sisters

A historical romance about an artist and his three sisters in early C20th rural Sicily. Very angsty and feels-y, with thwarted love and lots of unhappiness for everyone. This was my first full-length novel and although I think I’ve improved a lot since as a writer then I’m still fond of it because I remember the thrill of writing it and having it flow.

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mojoflower · 6 years

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‘Involuntarily Invisible’ Fic Rec List - various fandoms

and with thy lips dispell this curse by paranoid_fridge The Hobbit, Bagginshield, no rating, 10k

“I’m right here.” Bilbo wants to say, but cannot make a sound.

Not when he has been cursed to disappear.

Wow, turning invisible involuntarily is some scary stuff...

Invisible Man by shinkonokokoro Merlin, Merthur, Teen, 25k.

"You are capable of more?" "More? Your majesty?" "More types of spells. More brain cells as well?" "Yes," he hissed. "Protect yourself." "What?" "Carl, shoot him."

Getting captured by Uther doesn't quite have the results Merlin expect

Lovely story. Modern royalty au, if you will, where, instead of executing Merlin, Uther makes him play invisible bodyguard, with a lot of emphaisis on "You no longer exist." Merlin is terribly amiable, which is funny, and doesn't actually manage to keep his mouth shut when he bodyguards. Arthur creatively names him Voice.

In Visibility by cat_77 Avengers, Clint Barton, Teen, 14k.

He was used to slinking in shadows, hidden from sight. This was just ridiculous, really.

In Plain Sight by oldenuf2nb Harry Potter, Drarry, Mature, 38k.

Draco Malfoy had stopped believing his wishes would be granted long ago. He could perhaps be forgiven for being startled, then, when one of them came true.

Lovely: the Board decides to do away with the Slytherin House and Hogwarts fights back. Meanwhile, Pansy is terribly injured by a curse and that makes Draco the last Slytherin standing. "He's the last," the voice tells Harry. "There isn't much time." Draco starts by using a disillusionment Charm, but it quickly becomes involuntary invisibility. But Harry's watching, and doesn't want him to disappear entirely. UST, although it isn't sex-heavy at all. There are some shining bits, however, like this bit, after Draco's injured and somewhat stoned: ******** “And that mouth…” he exhaled slowly. “Such a pretty mouth, Potter. Such a pretty, pretty mouth. Makes a man want to grab handfuls of your horrible hair and kiss that pretty, pretty mouth until it’s all soft and puffy and swollen.” Malfoy abruptly released the hold on Harry’s jumper and smoothed the bunched fabric with his hand. “I mussed you,” he noted, his eyes drifting closed and the smile returning to pull at his lips. “I mussed Potter. Although, Potter is usually mussed.”

Harry was frozen in place, staring at Malfoy’s face, his heart racing. /What the hell had that been?/ he thought, finally pulling back. Malfoy must be heavily drugged. It was the only explanation for what had just happened.

In Time of Trial by Merlin, Merthur, Mature, 37k.

Uther fears his son's power, and Merlin has helped Arthur flee to escape imprisonment. Now the two of them must fight to regain Arthur's rightful place in Camelot.

Wow, what a fantastic story. 36k words never went so fast. This is the one where Uther's old friend Aelfric comes to visit and slowly drips poison into his ear until he's convinced that Arthur is going to try to depose him and take the crown. When he orders Arthur to be taken to the dungeons as a traitor (and killed on the spot if he struggles), Merlin races ahead of the guards to rescue Arthur. (Luckily, he's been practicing a spell that makes things invisible. Unluckily, he has to spring it on Arthur with no warning at all and convince him to be silent and still while the guards search his room around them.) And thus is magic revealed.

The pair go on the run, and eventually settle near Tintagel, where all the Druids live, and begin preparations to fight back. Arthur allows himself to act on his attraction to Merlin (I'd rate this an M), perhaps because now that he sees that Merlin is a powerful warlock, he sees them as being equals. Also, there's no doubt of Merlin's loyalty, considering how they got out of Camelot.

This isn’t focused on the involutarily invisible aspect, but it does deserve a mention.

Merlin's Moving Castle by KrisEleven Merlin, Merthur, Gen, 49k.

What an amazing story. I kind of expected a rehash of the Howl's Moving Castle plot (which would have been fine, as I adore the story), but instead the author used only pieces of it and built something entirely new and totally belonging to Merlin and Arthur and their world from the show. There was a surprising amount of action (Merlin first meets Arthur during a fight and flight) and it culminates in an enormous battle. But in between, it's Arthur, learning to be patient and getting to know some new people... learning about the world through their eyes. It's just beautiful.

Unseen by astolat Harry Potter, Drarry, M, 11k. Not so much involuntarily invisible as voluntary and fucked up, but damn it’s fucking gorgeous.

we are tangled by drunktuesdays Teen Wolf, Sterek, T, 6k.

"Derek was at your house?" "For like ten seconds," Stiles said. "I'd say it was weird, but is anything about Derek ever not weird?"

invisible!derek!!!

Invisible by chappysmom Sherlock,Johnlock, Gen, 86k.

John had had the knack for as long as he could remember.

It wasn’t that he could become invisible, exactly. The laws of physics worked quite well in his vicinity, thank you very much. It was just that people tended … not to see him.

Not involuntary, but my first invisible fanfic, and I adore it.

Who said that? by coconutcranberries (orphan_account) Teen Wolf, Sterek, Unrated, 33k.

It's a lonely life, he's not gonna lie.

Oh, this is going to be so much fun.

Such an interesting idea: Stiles' power is to make himself not exist... AT ALL. So from the time he's 8, he's vanished from everyone's awareness, all records deleted, everything. Only his dad can see him (and even that is periodically unreliable). But then suddenly, Derek sees him one day, which starts a chain of events that leads to him feeling hopeful once again about being able to interact with the world. It's kind of tragic, I mean, think of the loneliness, the skin hunger, the sense of abandonment involved in being non-existent for 8 years. But it eventually works out.

I have not read these yet, so read at your own risk:

The Invisible Man by Faith Wood (faithwood) Harry Potter, Drarry, E, 10k

Sometimes unforeseen side effects aren't the worst thing that can happen to a person.

The Invisible Iron Man by AnonEhouse Avengers, Tony Stark, Teen, 24k. Due to a lab accident Tony becomes an Eccentric Billionaire Hermit Philanthropist in Iron Man 2, joins the Avengers and becomes good friends with Steve without ever meeting him face to face.

we can go wherever we please by stitchy Sherlock, Johnlock, Teen, 13k.

John is invalided home from Afghanistan, but instead of developing a limp- he becomes invisible.

"You can see me?” “I see everything,” he claims.

To Walk in his Shoes by SassyFanGirl Merlin, Merthur, Teen, 5k.

When a magical enemy of Merlin's decides it's high time Arthur found out about Merlin's magic, he sets a spell forcing Arthur to be bound to Merlin. There was a catch though, Merlin couldn't see him. So Arthur is forced to be Merlin's shadow for a day. He never expected to see this though. The magic was a surprise... But this? Can Arthur get himself visible in time?

Whisper by ace (alia_castiella) Teen Wolf, Sterek, Gen, 2k.

Stiles yawned and crawled out of bed, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. They felt strangely gritty for some reason. It was then that he remembered the odd blue cloud. He trudged toward the bathroom and opened the door, expecting to see his reflection covered in sparkly powder. Instead, he saw... nothing.

(Or, Stiles is invisible because pixies are freaking annoying.)

He That Rides Unseen by Vulgarweed The Hobbit, Bagginshield, Explicit, 6k. Not involuntary:

There is much more to Bilbo than meets the eye – especially on those occasions when none of him does. Thorin has faced down his fears on so many truly dangerous occasions, he will not shrink from the mere uncanniness of being seduced by someone he can't see. A fandom-specific kink: sex with the Ring on.

#involuntarily invisible fic recs #invisible merlin fic rec #invisible draco fic rec #invisible derek fic rec #vicioushyperbolizer #cam-oak-corg #omg y'all #I just spent AN HOUR on this #I hope you appreciate it

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