chimerafeathers’ old main

In life, you always have a choice. Sometimes it's easier to think that you don't. merlinmeta: new home for meta / crit / etc posts. [ posts now tagged here as #merlinmeta ] ❤ icon by consulting-mutt ❤ Aith | they/them | adult i don’t use this blog much anymore! you can find me at chimerafeathers (ISaT/ostensibly multifandom/general)

[faustophilia]

[groundbreakingdot872]

Gwen, years after Camlann, wearing her servants frock to council meetings, or not bothering to change into a gown after spending the afternoon outdoors, because when has status ever mattered over sincerity for her?

Gwen letting the nooks and crannies of her chambers fill with enchanted trinkets, floating furniture, charms and all manner of bits and bobs that clearly point an intimacy with magic, long before it became publicly acceptable to flout it

Gwen allowing weird and strangely fearsome creatures to roost on her shoulders, and peek out from beneath her skirts while visiting kings and queens stutter in dismay, because if they’re meant to be her allies, they should get comfortable with the lived experience of her people, and quick!

Gwen forgoing the crown for circlets that dance with stars, and letting maidservants paint her mouth gold, so the entire world sees how she kisses her sorcerer, and lets the magic kiss her back

Gwen who’s determined to love Merlin unashamedly this time, and with every ounce of her being

[k62256]

happy birthday to meee so have some more of them :>

[fridgrave2-0]

first time watching this show in 2026 damnnn

[knightswaypoint]

Learning how to give reports with Uncle Leon (For the Anon who asked for a Leon and Aithusa interaction!)

[svorine]

[ashdenn-art]

Morgana and Gwen

[washiing-machine]

gwen art? in this economy?

[wickedqueenofspacekids]

the only medieval wlw we collectively failed

[transkojiro]

imo the merlin (and more specifically, merthur) fandom's widespread insistence that merlin was in the wrong for "lying" to athur by hiding his magic from the man who had the power to execute him over it is directly connected to how of the concept of The Closet being a metaphorical place of safety has largely been twisted into being seen as a thing of shameful deception (both to yourself and to "your loved ones") so aggressively to a point that a lot of queer teens today genuinely don't know/believe that its purpose for safety is even an important, valid, sometimes lifesaving option. it sucks to hide, it really does. it leaves you feeling hollow, and it can feel like you're living a lie - but that doesn't mean you're deceiving people, or yourself. and if you know that the people with power over you would react badly to knowing who you really are? holding that truth close to your chest with a cishetsona until it's safe to let it shine is one of the strongest, most important things you can do for yourself, and anyone who suggests otherwise does not actually have your best interests in mind.

your safety is not, has never, and will never be a lie to the people who would not hesitate to hurt you if they knew who you really were.

[omint]

seasons

[makielkowo]

me and my girlfriend started to rewatch merlin again... i fear i developed an unhealthy obsession??

(season 2 spoilers under cut! (is it even possible to spoil a show that ended 10+ years ago?)

ough i keep forgetting how gut wrenching that show is💔👎

[tiredcowboyy]

merlin has more strength than me bc if I heard uther pendragon bitch and moan about how magic only brings harm after I just saved his sons life for the ten billionth time that year with my magic and almost died yet again, I fear id accidentally turn him into a log

[oneiro-nautical]

Hello???

via @rythyme

[logstl]

there’s so many merlin fanfics where the counsel is almost written like a democracy. like arthur is king he has all the power please let him overturn the magic ban

[princess-of-morkva]

it was most likely a feudal monarchy. sure the king could *technically* do whatever he wants. in practice, if he does so without support of the feudal lords he's not gonna be king for long.

the pover of a king fucking hinges on political relationships with feudal lords. you know. the guys who have the land? there's not gonna be a kingdom if too many lords decide the current king sucks and that swearing loyalty to the next king over is gonna benefit them better.

it's not a democracy in the sense that common people have a say in it, but it kinda is in that the king's power hinges on the mandate of his vassals

uther would have no doubt needed the support of his lords to do what he did, for his kingdom to be relatively stable for twenty years afterwards - that shows he was probably good as hell at juggling politics and keeping everyone equally scared and appeased

especially as we know from the show that most of the noble families in camelot had supported uther when he has taken over camelot. thats kinda also the thing about his knights code - the institution of knighthood itself in uther's kingdom is an inner politics thing more than it is about military power even, but that's a talk for another time

so arthur is left with a kingdom of uther's old wartime buddies in positions of power and likely not so many supporters of his own (it was really smart of uther btw to preoccupy his son with fights and quests and things like fucking patrols. he was essentially keeping arthur out of inner politics as his own independent figure). we can see arthur's position in court improve as he makes allies that are *his* and not inherited from uther, like queen annis and princess mithian.

sorry for going on this rant. i agree that it's totally ok to have arthur in your fic just say it and be done with it. it's not like the show is historically accurate with the fucking tomatoes in their 6th century. but if you want more realistic politics in an fic it's probably something to consider

[theroundbartable]

If Uther could have done whatever he wanted, it wouldn't be a monarchy, it would be a dictatorship.

[akelafang]

Personally, I find fics where Arthur just goes "I'm king now so no more magic ban" without any work to put it into effect, no opposition, and no backlash to be annoying. That's not how a monarchy works.

No matter what government system you have, your power only lasts so long as the people who gave it to you want you to have it. For a monarchy like Camelot this would be the noble families, the ones with influence and sway over the lands, resources, and public opinion. They own the land that grows crops to feed the kingdom. They supply the military with ore from their mines to arm the knights and fill it's ranks with their own sons and brothers. They influence the opinions of the people who live in their lands by the information and propaganda they spread. These are the people you have to appease if you don't want an uprising on your hands because you decided to change the law in a way that goes against their interests. And it would be so easy for them to do it too. Withdraw the food supply from the palace until the king gives in to your demands, use force with the countless men in the knights' ranks who are members of the nobility and share your interest, turn the public opinion against the king with lies and propaganda and let the outraged peasants do it for you.

The system that Uther set up by only giving power, influence, and military rank to the people who swore fealty to him is great when you have their support and are working in their favour but is a nightmare when you don't. Arthur repealing the ban that the nobles supported for over 20 years and in many cases is probably the reason they have their rank in the first place is exactly the kind of thing that would put him in that nightmare scenario if it's not handled carefully. That's not even touching on the fear-mongering and the anti-magic propaganda that Uther's been pumping out that these nobles were either influenced by, contributed to, or both.

We see in the show the leader of a small village ready and willing to burn a woman at the stake with the king himself in front of him telling him to cut her down. The only reason he doesn't set the pire alight is because Arthur draws a sword on him. This is not a kingdom that would allow a repeal on the magic ban without issues just because the king said so. Public opinion on magic users needs to be changed from the nobles to the peasants. The nobility needs to be kept in support of the king and his decisions, whether that's through respect, fear, or just throwing out anyone who disagrees and replacing them with people who do.

A king does have all the power, but that power only lasts until he gets stabbed in the back by a fed up noble. A king that makes decisions with no regard for his council is not a king who lasts long

[aithuzah]

do you think Uther isnt surprised or afraid of Nimueh when she teleports into his throne room because they have something preventing them from harming each other? He has no reason to feel so safe that he would have a conversation with her rather than call for guards.

i like that idea! the question of how Uther drove out magic in the first place has always been a bit unclear—we know SOME of his methods and strategies (turning people against each other, using Dragonlords against the dragons), but since it all started with Nimueh, maybe he could have put measures in place to protect against her directly before the purge really took off. a talisman or charm of some kind that he justifies as being a blessing from the new religion to defend against the old, maybe?

if we set that thought aside and assume he doesn’t have protection, i think maybe his arrogance combined with his fear of other people finding out what Nimueh knows would prevent him from calling for help. maybe he knows Nimueh well enough to trust she won’t just kill him directly, or maybe he would rather die a martyr at the hands of a sorceress than have the secrets they share escape. maybe he doesn’t want any witnesses to how easily she appeared somewhere supposedly “secure,” or the familiar and knowing way she speaks to him, leading his subjects to question the illusion of his power.

their feud is deeply personal, so i imagine he’s reluctant to let anyone other than Gaius get a glimpse of the truth behind it.

[aithuzah]

hi so i hope this is okay and no need to reply ofc if not, i just wanted to tell you this (i dont use tumblr at all sorry). your posts (from ages ago to be fair) talking about arthur and his potential and gaius and gwen and what they all had inside that could be explored as well as how pro-oppressor the original show was (even tho like you said later yes it's a show for fun and it can be chill) scratched my brain the right way and is helping me write a longfic (I love your fics btw they're written so well and more aligned with my perception of the characters and I especially love your morgana, but I havent read all your fics). and i just wanted to say thanks cause i watched merlin when i was younger and i always wanted to do something about how I thought the story could go and so many SO MANY writers have done an incredible job of writing longfics and I just... seeing your takes that were validating pushed me to be like oh maybe my take could also be a fic (after all these years... i know). Um so yeah thank you. I ended up making a magic system merlin could learn that made sense of the show's loose one in a way that still keeps it open, and like learned a lot of folklore of the celtic nations and experienced cool stuff I probably never would have if I hadn't been sparked into doing it. So yeah thanks ^^

this is such an UNBELIEVABLY sweet message to receive, i’m stunned??? thank you!

it’s always lovely to hear that my writing, meta and fic alike, can still connect with people even after so long, but it’s incredible to know that it also sparked such creative energy and prompted you to learn new things…It’s been a long time since i’ve written fanfic specifically, but putting passion and energy into any creative project is always such a challenge and a joy, and being a part of the inspiration for that journey for someone else?? It makes me really happy to hear that, and I hope you’re having a great time with the process!!

i may not be very active here anymore but please please feel free to tell me more about your ideas and/or link your fic if/when you post it so i can share it here!

[aithuzah]

Camelot’s Superlatives