Merlin Emrys - Blog Posts

crawlin back to you

Merlin becoming unhinged and paranoid after being alive for 1500 years. Merlin not eating for 1 week straight before he goes like "oh right" because he fucking forgot. Oh, the elevator in his apartment building is out of order, but he has to go to Lake Avalon. Oh well. He's gonna use the stairs. And by "using the stairs" I mean throwing himself from the staircase. It's faster this way! He's gonna break a few bones and give himself a concussion but hey, he's immortal, so it's ok! Merlin walking outside and glancing behind his back every 3 seconds when someone looks like has been walking behind him for a bit too much of a time. Merlin having a tons of locks on his front door. Because you never know. Merlin talking with people and that voice in his head screaming at him "don't form connections with them, don't you dare become attached to them, because that's how it starts. You make small conversations with people, then you become friends, and the next thing you know they find out about your magic and they try to kill you or they just die because they're mortal." (definitely not from experience, nuh-uh). Merlin having weapons somewhere hidden in his house just in case he's in danger and his magic doesn't work for whatever reason. A minor inconvenience happening and Merlin just going "fuck. Oh well, let me just- *throws himself from the top of a building*. Merlin finding out he's neurodivergent. He doesn't really have to mask anymore, he hasn't been doing that for a while because he's all alone so no one will care and also because nowadays no one gives a shit. Him being neurodivergent explains so much (personally I'm an ADHD Merlin truther lol). Merlin having abandonment issues, which is also another reason why he refuses to connect with people. Because hey, better to be never loved than be loved and lose it, right? Merlin considering himself something more than human. Not in the "haha, I'm more powerful than everyone else, lmao" way, but in the "I have all this power in my hands yet the world is still shit, I'm a failure, why couldn't I be like everyone else?" way. All these stuff don't even have to revolve around Arthur or Camelot, it can be just the brain trying to comprehend 15 centuries worth of trauma.

I have an idea for a Merlin fic but life is chaos so I cannot write it:

So for whatever reason Arthur is away (probably visiting some Lord or Nobel House) and Merlin stays behind (who knows why).

Uthers manservant is ill so he requests Merlin (after all he’s the crown prince’s manservant he should be good enough for the king).

Merlin is now stuck as Uthers servant for a week and I really want to see Merlin try to wake the King up with “rise and shine!! :D”

He talks too much and is entirely too familiar with the King, taking liberties and speaking out of turn, mentioning Arthur by name and not title, is always late with lunch but somehow…

Uther finds him fascinating. He knows Merlin is completely loyal to Arthur (he said so himself in the show). He understands Merlin hears castle gossip like most staff, but he is actually able to understand the significance behind the rumours. Merlin is also trusted by the knights and has insight into the lords and ladies of the court. He sees things, he hears things. Uther can use this

As a physician in training, he is able to treat Uthers old knee injury, and he is clearly learned. He can read and write better than some of the noblemen he’s met. One day Uther enters his chambers and finds Merlin bent over the desk looking over the grain reports “did you notice Lord Chester had been underreporting his grain storage for three years and is selling it under the table to a foreign king?”

Merlin is a terrible manservant…but Uthers clothing had never been cleaner, his armour so polished, his bathwater so hot and his notes so organised. Merlin is continuously late and covered in mud or moss, but somehow Uther finds he doesn’t mind as long as Merlin keeps feeding him important castle gossip.

Arthur gets Merlin back at the end of the week, and Merlin can finally breathe (he’s been a nervous wreck for the last seven days). Uthers servant recovers and the King has a functional servant again as is befitting his station.

But Uther is now willing to overlook some of Merlin’s …ridiculousness and familiarity with Arthur…after all, he’s realised Merlin does have some uses, even though he’s always late with breakfast.

Scenes like this:

“You’re the clumsiest excuse for a servant I’ve ever met!”

“Yes, Arthur says I have the elegance of a newborn lamb”

“Why is there a twig in your hair? It’s unbefitting of your station as servant of the King”

“I fell asleep in a ditch, anyways have you heard Lady Carteret has been seen buying hemlock at the apothecary? I’m sure Lord Carteret is soon to be missing, poor sod”

“Can you never bring me my breakfast on time?!”

“Sorry Sire, the poison tester died this morning after drinking your tea, so I had to brew it myself, and we’re in need of a new poison tester. And in totally unrelated news Lord Milder was seen fleeing the castle”

“Rise and shine!! The sun is up and you should be too!”

“Is this really how you wake your King? And where the hell is my breakfast!”

“Well Arthur usually throws a pillow at me even though it’s my job to wake him in the morning - that lazy arse!”

the feathered hat solidifies it for them 💔💔

Had the idea that when visiting nobles meet Merlin for the first time they assume Merlin is the court jester. They hear this little peasent boy call the Prince/King "a useless clotpole with a waist bigger than his brain" and when no one does anything for the treason they just assume he's their buffoon.

Post- Magic reveal Merthur angst oneshot (as “We hug now” by Sydney Rose)

“I have a feeling you got everything you wanted.”

The smell of mold and dust chokes up the back of his throat, strewn over the floor of a musty, wooden shack he discovered while aimlessly walking in the middle of nowhere. Only 4 days ago, he had pushed the boat into the lake, watching it drift away as his mind was now.

His eyes burned with fiery tears, the tracks engraving into his skin with molten magic - the loss never to be forgotten, embedded into his cheeks. Merlin hiccuped for breaths whenever the full feeling in his nose returned. Oh how he prayed for Arthur’s return.

Even though his bleeding body had been returned to Avalon after being struck, Merlin somewhat knew he’d done good - even without lifting the ban on magic. Merlin knew he was a good king - having achieved and done much more than his predecessors ever did for the people of Camelot.

He had a feeling Arthur did what he could and he knew he would return when Albion’s need was greatest. At least he got the life he wanted as King, portrayed as a savior and a strong ruler - a glorious battle leading to his demise.

He lived a magnificent life.

“You’re not wasting time, stuck here like me.”

At least Arthur was frozen in time rather than being stuck on an earth that would keep turning whether Merlin moves on or not. He knew the world would go on without him. Without him.

How could he ever be part of an existence without Arthur? What would be the point in living? What would his purpose be? How could he have failed? What was there left to do? He was a nobody with no political power.

Why couldn’t they have taken Merlin instead? Arthur would be able to accomplish much more than Merlin ever could in the time he’d have to wait for his other half’s return. But it wasn’t like that.

He was stuck here - without hope, without meaning and without Arthur.

“You’re just thinking it’s a small thing that happened.”

Merlin revealing his magic was insignificant compared to Arthur’s death. If he had done it much sooner, yes - there was the risk of dying, but it was a risk he should’ve taken rather than left so late.

Merlin wasn’t sure if Arthur would have ordered his execution on the spot if hadn’t been in such a vulnerable position. He wasn’t sure if he would have burst out in a fit of rage and attacked him.

But he knew Arthur had been heart broken - the trust between them was a taut thread with a blade pressed against it. Nothing could ever compare to the feeling of relief when Arthur talked to him again - when Arthur let Merlin care for him again.

“Why are you doing this?” he said, voice slurring and thick with emotion. “Why are you still acting like a servant?”

But he had never been acting. Arthur was everything to him. He would move planets and destroy galaxies to see Arthur safe, or happy. He was born to serve Arthur and he’d stand by that until the world falls to nothing.

“The world ended when it happened to me.”

When he threw up the words “I have magic.”, hoarsely whispering “I only use it for you, Arthur.”, he feared for his life. He knew Arthur was weak and vulnerable and would have to rely on Merlin if he wanted to survive. But he knew if his King ordered his execution he’d comply.

All the years of living in fear - spent watching sorcerers fight for their families and die. All the years he lived in Camelot - spent chasing after destiny. All the years he stood by Arthur’s side - spent protecting him. It all felt worthless. His life and its purpose felt meaningless.

Uther had ordered Gaius’s execution after Gaius had been a trusted member in the council for decades. After Gaius had publicly turned against his own kind to stand by Uther’s side. Would Arthur do that to him even after showing and proving he had the utmost loyalty toward him?

Merlin knew for a fact that his fear of losing Arthur and being unable to serve him by his side overpowered the notion of dying.

“I have a feeling you got everything you wanted.”

Arthur was glad his last moments were spent with his best friend - a man he cares for and loves. He was glad it was by his side that his life left his body. He was glad he didn’t have to die alone.

He somewhat knew Merlin had never trusted him. He knew Merlin didn’t love him the way Arthur loved him because if he did why would he never tell Arthur about his magic. Did he really think Arthur would kill him? After all they’ve been through together?

Arthur understood Merlin did what he had to. He understood Merlin was the only person there was for him. He understood Merlin would never want to hate or hurt him. He understood magic was a part of Merlin that would never leave him and he’d accept him as he was.

Merlin was a good man. He’d done so much for Arthur and there was no way he could ever repay him - not now as the last words lingered in his last breath.

“Thank you.”

There was a small guilty feeling swirling in the back of his throat. Maybe Merlin was even happy that Arthur had died; there was no King to persecute him. That would be everything he wanted, right? To be free.

“You’re not wasting time, stuck here like me.”

Merlin was out there living while Arthur’s carcass had been left to rot on a brittle boat in the middle of a cursed lake. He would get to do things. He would get to see his family and his friends and Arthur would be stuck here - trapped in the visceral bounds of time; choking him.

“You’re just thinking it’s a small thing that happened.”

Arthur’s death must have meant nothing to Merlin. He was a powerful warlock - the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth and Arthur just felt like some lousy king who accomplished nothing. He saved nobody.

He had blindly followed along his father’s ruling and assisted in the persecution of so many all of his life - carpet cleaning an entire community and race of people. It was only in his last days that he realised just how wrong he was.

Arthur was really the useless one between the duo - between the two men who couldn’t be more opposite. This moment must be so insignificant to Merlin who would live forever. There was definitely more important battles he fought and more important people in his life.

People more important that he cared more for than Arthur. Arthur’s death was a blip of his life that he would forget as if it never happened.

“The world ended when it happened to me.”

He had felt the life being torn out of his lungs as death scraped its claws down his throat, piercing his last words in its sharp nails.

Everything he was meant nothing.

None of his life mattered because he had never been the king he should have been - a king who helped and freed people. He didn’t even get to help Merlin. And now he’d never be able to see him again, never be able to beg for forgiveness again, never be able to thank him again - never be able to voice how much he loves him.

He wasn’t sure if his world ended when blood stopped circulating around his body or when he stopped feeling Merlin by his side.

i’ve never posted anything, ever. but i have a headcanon so…

OKAY this might have already been written in the vestiges and nooks of the never-dying, long-suffering BBC’s Merlin fandom. And it has definitely been thought but

Arthur heals a lot faster than others - whether it’s from sickness or minor wounds and injuries. Merlin canonically SUCKS at healing spells but tries to do what he can when he sees Arthur wounded and he’s like helping him change and stuff or putting gauze on it.

Also im a strong believer in the fact that Merlin is Emrys and has an insane, unlimited supply of magic so he could definitely learn healing spells. I’d think at some point he’d start learning them to heal Arthur faster but in a way that it wasn’t suspicious, not like “oh i had a massive scar cut into my arm and now it’s suddenly gone” but more like “huh that healed quicker than i thought it would”

Also I’d like to think Leon notices that Arthur heals quicker but doesn’t comment on it.

happy arthursdeathmas to all who celebrate!!

hi there merlin fandom :)

deleting dating apps and finding love the old-fashioned way (i’m a blond european prince who falls in love with a you, a guy that his (traditional) ruler and head of his family deems unfit for said love. I continue to defy this ruler for you, and create a love story that is so powerful that everyone who meets us can just sense it, usually before even we could, at the beginning. you have dark hair and are seen as an outcast by most other people in our (high) society. you also has a secret/are more than meets the eye.)

Arthur: I’m just realising that you and I are a lot more similar than we thought

Merlin: that’s a horrible thing to say

Merthur's first meeting in a nutshell:

Merlin: be a buddy, not a bully bro

Arthur: I AM NOT YOUR BRO now get down on your knees for me~

y'know that episode where morgana controls Merlin? he doesn't wear his usual blue or red shirts, he wears purple....and morgana wore a lot of purple.

It took me a hot minute to realise. do you think it was a coincidence?

did no-one in Camelot see Merlin and go 'wtf, he's wearing purple???' maybe that was something that made gauis suspicious, he was probably wondering where tf Merlin got that shirt from.

magic pool boy vs the world

In which Merlin does understand the significance of Arthur gifting him his mother's sigil

i am something

AU where Arthur finds out about the prophecy and pieces together that "his closest ally Emrys" must be Merlin because who else would it be, but incorrectly assumes that Merlin doesn't know and therefore has never practiced magic before.

Even better if he finds out early season 1 so He's just so devastated the entire time and he's just like "I can't believe this, this prophecy is going to turn my best friend into a sorcerer, and it's all my fault for being the once and future king" and Merlin's in the back just murdering a sidhe

Merlin looking proud of Arthur for lying to his father: a compilation. 

Also, these two idiots just lied to the king and left wearing the most smug faces ever and I love them.

Wait a damn minute Merlin is an actual nightmare of a servant. Imagine you're the Prince and all of a sudden and only two seconds after surviving an assassination attempt you're stuck with this scrawny, clumsy fucking dude with a really shifty air about him who spends literal days in the tavern with zero notice, steals your food, tried to spy on a guest, doesn't let you hunt, can never fucking be found when you need him even though he is the literal manservant to the prince, which you would think should be a priority but apparently he has better things to do, and is always talking like he's the only thing standing between you and certain death???? Then he gives you attitude? Literally I would throw things at him too. Arthur is misunderstood he's actually being too nice

Avalon12 au

And here are the plot thoughts so far

Like I said, Kilgharrah is magical, well-informed and well-connected. The concern towards magic grows, the incidents get bigger, so a major counteroperation begins under top secrecy. Along with it, the army signs their so far longest contract with Avalon12 — they get constant assignments to seemingly random missions that have an underlying motive; to eliminate and destroy the magical threat without disclosing information. The squad gets new efficient training and the most important weapon — Merlin

Their dynamic is similar to the show. Kilgharrah reveals himself to Merlin and explains his transfer. Now, Merlin has to, somehow, lead 12 killing machines of soldiers to clean up sites of magical experiments gone wrong (this is where the horror creatures come in) and eliminate sorcerers that are preparing a magical war and armageddon, all that without exactly letting them know what's happening before shit absolutely hits the fan and no other way is left. (Which doesn't really work out for long)

I'm also thinking about keeping Morgana as a sort of antagonist/antihero, who discovers her own magic, in her desire to ruin Uther's business, makes a deal with the magicals. That comes back, biting her in the ass and she ends up having to choose between ensuring Gwen's or Arthur's safety. She chooses Gwen

Avalon12 au

Okay I thought a lot of thoughts about the lore so here's a bit of a summary. Small disclaimer none of this is realistic I'm pulling this out of my ass and thin air

Avalon is the name of one of the biggest military suppliers founded by Uther and several other ex-soldiers (Olaf and others). Tech, ammunition, research, they do it all. Currently the majority of the company is legally owned and run by Morgana

Avalon12 isn't only 12 people. It's a network of independent, international contractors funded, trained and sustained by Uther and co themselves. That's the part of Avalon's business Morgana has no say or hand in. The hirable squad usually contains 12 troops, 6 of them rotating after each mission to ensure safety and anonymity, and 6 being permanent members (bravo team). They are mostly hired for high-risk political missions that could spark international conflicts if executed by any of the national armed forces

Bravo team is the knights under Arthur's command. They're ghosts, people who don't exist in the eye of government — officially, Uther Pendragon lost his son to an accident years ago. Arthur was raised as a war weapon and is the only one on the team who still goes by his birth name to keep up the arthurian morale and bravado. Lancelot, Gwaine, Percival, Elyan and Leon initially lived their lives under different names but those personas got consensually wiped out once they replaced the original bravo team (Leon is the only one who didn't start under Arthur's command)

Morgana fucking hates Uther. She bonds with Gwen after her dad dies and Elyan, driven by grief, accepts the offer to join Arthur's team and almost gets permanently separated from his sister due circumstances. Morgana makes Gwen her assistant, goes against Uther for the first time and gives Gwen and Elyan means of regular, stable contact. She wants to take over Avalon12 and end it for both Gwen and Arthur. At the start of plot, her and Gwen are engaged

Magic is a completely unknown force. It only starts being explored at the time this au starts unfolding, leading to a slow uprising of magicals as well as unofficial/undocumented experiments the governments are aware of but, so far, too uninformed and powerless to make the matter public

Merlin and his family have magic in their lineage. Merlin serves in Intelligence corps, being an interpreter, researcher and field scientist. Kilgharrah is a major general and a sorcerer himself, although Merlin, who works almost directly under him, doesn't know it. Kilgharrah knows about Merlin's power and keeps him close for that reason

Merlin and Gaius research magic here too

Night patrols

Empathy (2/2)

He does feel the scrapes and soreness of his palms under the gloves the night after that, picking apart and putting back together a receiver in the dim light of a portable lamp beside his base bunk. Lance watches him over his book, Merlin can feel it, but he can't help the hurt tremor no matter how hard he grips the plastic. His thumb slides off the handle of the screwdriver awkwardly and something inside the box cracks on the impact, loudly, making Arthur throw his head up from the paperwork and glare at him. Then, the gaze softens on the edges. Then, Arthur meets his eyes with a lost look and furrowed brows like he's witnessing something he isn't sure how to register and process. Merlin hears a shaky, choked inhale hit his throat even before he himself can register or process it.

He bites down on the screwdriver, looking away and cracking the device back open with his fingers.

The tears keep falling and he keeps feeling them crawl across his face and bury their way into his skin.

Empathy (1/2)

//tw gore

The man is already dead when Lance lightly pushes Gwaine against the empty window opening with deliberation of a disappointed mother hen. To sit down, it is, but Gwaine's arse slides right in and he catches himself first with a startled shriek and then a wounded cry. Lance curses, curses some more while pulling him into an upright position and pressing harder on the bleeding wound.

And there it is.

"Jesus Christ."

The man lays right below what once was a windowsill and looks, medically speaking, fresh. Not rigid, but not yet bloated, which is surprising in the dry heat of the late afternoon.

Merlin prefers to silently recite rather than think about, well, the thing.

"Jesus Christ," Elyan echoes with a choked jump in his voice that might be a suppressed gag.

Rigor mortis, livor mortis, algor mortis. Algor mortis, rigor— Jesus, the teeth. Mortis. Jesus fucking Christ. No, rigor—

Merlin knows a curse when he sees one. Doesn't know what kind, but parts of a wholly developed foreign skeleton growing all over the man's body like some Last of Us type of fungus is more than likely not any of the something-something mortis stages. If the cold shock on Lance's face is anything to go by. If the goddamn mutilated, grotesquely absurd corpse is anything to go by.

Leon moves first, dropping off his load a few feet away from the ruin and helping Gwaine to plop himself onto the backpack instead. The recent unspoken rule of action first, questions second sets in motion and the team nervously moves aside, back into the slowly reddening sunlight, in a matter of seconds. Merlin follows, stripping Gwaine off his gear and parrying some poorly executed sex jokes that he forces out through gritted teeth."

Keep running your mouth and I'll send you to walk this," Merlin can't see what exactly Lance's freshly gloved hands do behind Gwaine's back but Gwaine squeaks and punches his own thigh in frustration, "off. All the way to the base."

There isn't actually any malice behind his words, only tired concern. He moves gently while sticking Gwaine with needles from his kit and slowly washing out the torn wound, sun settling lower and lower behind them. At some point Gwaine sits up straighter, pulling away from Merlin's supportive hold, and carries on a light conversation between the five of them. Four, to be more exact, because Merlin quietly drops off his rifle by Elyan's side and nods towards the ruin. The man gives him a heavy look, but no more, really.

White walls burn in the bloody red light of the sunset. The roof is partially caved in and the ruin doesn't really look inhabited by a squatter, so Merlin wonders if the dead man came here to die. The maggot infestation on his mutations is too large and visible to be postmortem, the body looks malnourished to the point of starvation — Merlin notes with a dull ache in his head as he inspects the broken jaw and the necrosis around it. For a brief second, a dangerous thought of trying to trace the magical seal on the curse, to find out where the man came from, but a loud boom of laughter outside makes him jump up anxiously and back up a few steps, bumping into a pile of collapsed bricks. He picks a piece up, staring between the stone and the body in front of him for a few seconds, considering how much time they have before Arthur's voice comes through the comms again. He stares, and nearly misses the movement in dead man's eyes and some bump rolls down his to the side of his nose. Merlin's breath hitches and a panicked spell almost escapes his mouth when another small bump falls out and he comes to a sickening realization that the unnatural white of the dead eyes isn't of the eyes at all.

The corpse cries and if Merlin cries real tears with it as he mechanically piles up rocks on top of it with his bare hands, he doesn't feel it.

bbc merlin - 03x04 Gwaine

the way arthur doesn't push as much as he just shoulder bumps merlin, the way merlin starts running before arthur even makes a move, the way arthur only runs about three steps before stopping. intricate rituals etc etc.

im reading a merthur fic and its the scene where merlin was disguised as dragoon to save uther, but bc of morgana he cant and die. BUT instead he succeeds bc everyone already knew he was a sorcerer and when uther woke up well and found out merlin saved him he was so disgusted that he was saved by magic that he grabbed a knife and stabbed his throat IN FRONT of both merlin and arthur. like what the fuck is happening rn i feel like im going insane

Merlin Takes No Shits AU (crack)

Enemy of the Week: Hah! What can a filthy, pathetic, lowly servant like you possibly do without the protection of your prince?

Merlin:

Merlin:

Merlin: Hasta fucking la vista, bitch (shitty fireball cgi)

---

Gaius: What were you thinking?! The king could have sentenced you to death! Have you any sense of self-preservation, boy?

Merlin: No

Gaius: ...And?

Merlin: ???

Gaius: Do you have anything to say for yourself?

Merlin: Nah lol

---

Arthur: Tell me, Merlin, do you know how to walk on your knees?

Merlin: ...Are you propositioning me?

Arthur: (wide eyes) (blush)

Arthur: You—Of course not! What is wrong with you?

Merlin: Cause if you were, I wouldn't turn your offer down. (easy smirk)

Arthur: (jaw drop)

Merlin: See you around, stranger.

[Silence as Merlin strides away]

Arthur: (shouts) I am the prince. You can't just walk away from me!

[Merlin waves without looking back]

---

[Merlin enters the Dragon's cave for the first time.]

Khilgharrah: How small you are for such—

Merlin: Can you, for the love of the Gods, shut up with the mindspeak? I'm trying to sleep.

Khilgharrah: (shocked)

Merlin: thx (leaves)

---

Merlin: (mutters) dayum shawty thy bumcheeks should be illegal

Arthur: (who's not deaf) WHAT?

Merlin: what

---

Uther: [hate speech about sorcerers]

Merlin in the background, seething: 🤌🤌🤌

Hey guys, I was reading this article on 10 underrated villains and morgana is there. So as I’m reading her description thingy I notice it says THIS

Apparently Merlin and Arthur have a brotherly relationship. I’m sorry I didn’t know this show took place in Alabama. But who knows maybe it was fine then for brothers to fuck eachother. I agree with everything else tho

Anyways here’s the article if you want to read it:

https://collider.com/underrated-tv-villains-21st-century-ranked/#morgana-pendragon-mdash-39-merlin-39-2008-2012

Collider

10 Underrated TV Villains of the 21st Century, Ranked

From Morgana in Merlin to The Tooth Fairy in Hannibal, these 10 shows of the 21st century feature some pretty underrated villains.

thinking back on the fics I read/re-read the most in 2023, and thinking about "And like the cycle of the year, we begin again" and why I love it so much, I realized it's because we get to see an Arthur that loved Gwen and Merlin, which I think is a beautiful and bittersweet way to read the canon relationships those three have with each other. if you haven't read it, I highly recommend. it's on ao3, by katherynefromphilly

i heard Colin Morgan say “how long have you been training to be a prat, my lord?” when I was 12 and my brain chemistry was permanently altered