a deadbeat wannabe writer and struggling co-ass students with too many ships and not enough studying. in dire need of a boyfriend. šāļø find me on AO3: sahnshine
Caitlyn Siehl // Leonard Cohen, "Anthem" // Rumi, "Bitterweet" // trans. Anne Carson, "Euripides" // Sade Andria Zabala, "Coffee and Cigarettes" // tumblr acct @/gayassnatural // Anne Carson, "H of H Playbook" // William Shakespeare, "Sonnet 116" // Clementine von Radics, "Mouthful of Forevers" // Toni Morrison, "Jazz"
oftentimes, i see merlin as blue. it's kind of a logical conclusion, seeing as that is a colour he is often dressed in throughout the show, and we have the "blue and red" contrast of merlin and arthur that kind of lends itself to that interpretation.
but i was thinking.
the official colours of the pendragon crest, and thereby the official colours of camelot, are red and gold.
arthur is red. we know this pretty apparently from his costuming-- red tunics, red cape, red necklace. but we're diving into metaphor, here, and within the framework of the show-- of arthur and merlin being two sides of the same coin, opposites and yet one whole-- arthur as red becomes even more apparent.
because red is a colour steeped in history, here, of victory, of war, of nobility. roman soldiers would paint their bodies red after a victory on the battlefield. in medieval history, red was often a royal colour because of its obvious association with blood-- specifically, the blood of christ (which is why cardinals wear red), and was worn by royalty to represent the divine right of kings. charlemagne, notably, wore red shoes at his coronation and painted his palace red. (of course, charlemagne was some 300 years post the time of arthur, but it still stands to reason that the iconography of red didn't change that radically in that time period). and, of course, if we're following arthuriana, arthur was the one who made y Ddraig Goch, the red dragon, his battle standard. (but then we go into the fact that bbc merlin is an anglicized version of a welsh piece of folklore, so of course the pendragon dragon is gold instead, but I am not going that route right now. maybe later. bear with me.)
but even just outside of red's historical context, red's symbolic meaning (which, of course, can't completely be divorced from its historical context, but i digress) is purely arthur. love, passion, fire, blood, courage, sacrifice, arthur, arthur, arthur.
it's interesting, then, that someone who is supposed to be the literal, physical embodiment of his kingdom (the king as a symbolic vessel for that which he rules) is not seen to be coded with both of its colours. sure, arthur wears the crest on several pieces of his clothing-- his gauntlets, his cape. but we never see arthur in just gold. he obviously favours red, as all the pendragons do (morgana's literal favour to sir owain, in the episode with tristan de bois, is red).
enter merlin.
we never see merlin wear gold, either. merlin isn't one to wear jewelry (gods know i would pay to see it), and for a servant to be dressed in gold would be. Well.
but merlin's magic is gold.
we see this, very literally, every time he performs magic. his eyes flash gold. it would be kind of a moot point if the idea that eyes flashing gold were a universal character trait amongst magic users in the show, but it isn't. first that comes to mind is the episode with sophia and the sidhe, whose magic turns their eyes red. several magic users throughout the show use magic without their eyes changing colour-- nimueh is one.
so it's not a consistent trait of those who use magic. magic doesn't universally turn your eyes gold within this narrative framework. but it does to merlin, because his magic is gold. and because merlin is magic, and his magic is so intrinsically unique to him and is unparalleled, it serves to reason that merlin is gold.
and, well.
the pendragon crest is mostly red-- and, if arthur is red, then camelot is red-- but its dragon, the heart of the crest, is gold.
and, well. if gold is merlin, and merlin is magic, and gold is magic--
there is, after all, magic in the heart of camelot.
what about a compilation of times merlin has threatened to turn someone into a toad? (and one time he did if you want) feel free to ignore this ask, love your writing!
(Headcanon Masterlist) (Full Masterlist)
Ok so I didn't even realise this was in my inbox until now so... this is AMAZING anon. I've decided to go with a shorter headcanon list as opposed to a full fic because then I can get more instances of Toad Threatening in.
Once he gets a little more comfortable with Kilgharrah, all the godamn time. Every time Kilgharrah threatens Merlin with destiny failing, or refuses to help him, every time he's even slightly cryptid or vague or annoying: Merlin threatens to turn him into a toad.
One day he just says it to Arthur without thinking. He can't even remember why, but it slips free "I'm going to turn you into a toad.". He doesn't realise what he's said until Arthur, casually as anything, without even looking up from whatever it was he was doing that was annoying Merlin so much, says "That would be all well and good, if it weren't for the fact that magic is very difficult and very illegal." and Merlin just... blue screens for a moment before huffing and saying "I'd find a way. Prat."
Will, every single time he sees him, for something or other.
Lancelot, because he forced him to take a few days off work after he'd been stabbed in the gut and had his head stomped on.
Gaius, for much the same thing, on three separate occasions in one hour, because he had a very bad concussion.
Arthur again, because he threw a sock at him, and then again, when he threw the other sock.Ā
Uther, under his breath, because he was mean to Arthur and the Prince had looked too much like a kicked puppy for Merlin to not want a little imagined revenge.
Gwaine, who upon discovering his magic had asked him what the coolest thing he could do was "Turn you into a toad, if you don't keep your damn voice down."
Morgause, because he was really tired of all the assassination attempts.
Arthur again, because he made Merlin jump when he was holding a bucket of ice.
A bird, because it squawked really early in the morning on his first day off in three months.
Morgana, because she kept laughing at him when he couldn't get a complicated spell right, and kept setting his bedsheets on fire instead of turning himself invisible.
Another bird, possibly the same one as before, because it managed to get stuck in his room and wouldn't get in the nice bag Merlin had put bread in so he could get it out the window again.
Leon, because he threatened to tell Arthur that he'd found Merlin sneaking out of the castle at night during a storm to hunt down an assassin with no back up.
Arthur, because he'd cuffed Merlin to his door when Leon told him he'd tried to sneak out of the castle at night in a storm to hunt down an assassin with no back up.
Elyan, because he laughed at him when Arthur told the knight to make sure he doesn't escape the cuffs he'd been put in because Leon had caught him trying to sneak out of the castle at night in a storm to hunt down an assassin with no back up.
Mordred, because he'd ignored his mental pleas to come and at least knock Arthur out if wasn't going to kill him, because the prat was being an arse and Merlin had a headache and wanted a nap.
A tree, because Merlin wasn't paying attention and walked straight into it.
Percival, because he stood in Merlin's doorway and wouldn't move when he tried to go to work with three freshly broken fingers, a concussion, a recently relocated shoulder, and a black eye.
Post magic reveal:
Leon, because he raised an eyebrow and scoffed when Merlin said he'd kept his magic secret for ten years, and no one, except the people he'd told, knew about it until now.
Elyan and Percival, because they looked away guiltily and hissed through their teeth when Merlin said he'd kept his magic secret for ten years, and no one, except the people he'd told, knew about it until now.
Gwaine, because he openly laughed when Merlin said he'd kept his magic secret for ten years, and no one, except the people he'd told, knew about it until now.
Gwen, because she'd tried desperately to appear shocked when Merlin revealed his magic, but is a terrible liar, and everyone knows it.
Arthur, because he laughed when Merlin said he actually... wasn't that good... at healing magic... despite basically being a God.
A step that Merlin has walked up and down possibly thousands of times in the last ten years when he stubbed his toe, because he swears it must have moved.
Gaius, because he rolled his eyes when Merlin was being petulant about... something or other (this one happens every few months or so).
Mordred, because he'd mentally laughed at him when he nearly fainted at all three hundred and six Druids bowing to him in the castle courtyard.
Iseldir, because he insisted on loudly calling Merlin "My Lord" every time he addressed him when Arthur was also present, specifically after Merlin had asked him not to.
Uther's grave, on the one year anniversary of magic being legalised. Though it was more retroactive: "I wish I'd turned you into a toad when I had the chance."
Arthur, when he first asked Merlin if he could kiss him, and Merlin thought he was taking the piss.
Morgana, because Merlin didn't stop blushing and giddily grinning for three days after his and Arthur's first kiss, and she happened to notice.
Kilgharrah, when it sounded as if the giant lizard was about to hoist another stupid destiny on him, but he actually ended up congratulating him on making it as Camelot's Court Warlock.
A spider, because Merlin ran into its web, got it all on his face and in his mouth, and it made him trip over.
George, because he heavily implied that he, among most of the other servants, had been aware of Merlin's magic for years, and had been covering for him whenever he disappeared.
Aithusa, because she snuck into Arthur's chambers and singed all of his cushions.
Mordred, because he wouldn't help and laughed when Merlin told him what Aithusa had done.
Arthur, because he proposed, and Merlin thought he was taking the piss.
Percival, because he was the first to notice, and then point out to everyone, the shiny matching rings that Merlin and Arthur had started wearing.
Lancelot, because he kept saying nice things to Merlin, and swore that he would keep doing so until The Warlock's self worth wasn't so terribly low.
Leon, Arthur, and Gaius, because they really quickly caught on to what Lancelot was doing, and joined in.
Gwen, because she went along with Arthur's joke that Merlin would have to wear a ridiculously huge feathered hat on their wedding day, as was traditional, and even went so far as to make one the week before the ceremony and stage a fitting.
Essetirās new monarch, under his breath, because he was being difficult during peace negotiations and wanted to move the border further into Camelot before he agreed to anything.
Gwaine, because he spent an entire night painstakingly painting all of Arthur's armour ridiculous colours, just because he knew Merlin had the power to undo it.
Gwaine, because he somehow shaved Percival's eyebrows off whilst he slept, just because he knew Merlin had the power to undo it.
Gwaine, because he spent another entire night unscrewing as many doors in the castle as he could, just because he knew Merlin had the power to undo it.
Arthur, in an unscripted part of his vows, because Arthur also went off script and started saying wonderful things about the stars and Merlin's soul and how the latter shined brighter than the former.
Elyan, because he joked abut branding a dick onto the inside of the crown Arthur had insisted on commissioning for him.
Mordred, because he looked at the new, traditional Druid tattoos that Merlin had gotten on his back, and tricked him into thinking that the actual faces of strength, courage, and magic, had been inked in great detail right in the middle.
Yet another bird, Merlin thinks it's almost certainly a different one this time, but you never know, because it learned to almost perfectly imitate George's daily "Morning Sires!", and spent a week following Merlin around screeching it in his ear.
Gaius, when he casually told his former ward that he'd surpassed his mentor in healing abilities years ago, and Merlin decided that it was far too early in the morning for such things to have been said.
Morgana, because she got him a pet goat that now wouldn't leave him alone, and kept trying to eat his cloak. He called her Brenda, by the way.
Brenda, because she kept trying to eat Merlin's cloak.
Arthur, because he'd sat Merlin down and told him he was ready, whenever Merlin is, to look into maybe taking in a ward of their own, and Merlin thought he was taking the piss.
Mordred, because he'd jokingly suggested the middle name Kilgharrah, for the new born that Arthur and Merlin had taken in but had yet to name.
Gwaine, very loudly, when he'd jokingly suggested the first names Other, Ither, or Ether, to keep the weird ass Pendragon naming tradition going for a third generation.
The letter than had been sent by the monarch of another Kingdom, insisting that Arthur and Merlin visit, because they hadn't left Camelot since the wedding or the heir acquisition, and Merlin didn't want to go.
Lancelot, because he'd seriously thought that he wasn't good with kids, and shouldn't be trusted to babysit little Orion when Arthur and Merlin had to leave Camelot for a couple of weeks.
A bird, and this time Merlin is like... 98% sure itās a different one but... heās honestly trying not to think about it. Anyway. He threatened to turn it into a toad because it shat on Leonās head and whilst you think that would be funny?? Those curls... Merlin would do anything for them.
~
The one and only time Merlin actually starts turning people into toads, is because the city comes under sudden attack, and he really can't be bothered with any of that ridiculous combat magic stuff. Orion had cried all night, Arthur was away for two or three days on a hunt, and Camelot's army is half the size of this gathering of bandits and Saxons and Essetirian soldiers. So... wham. Toads. Of course the people are grateful that what could have been a long, bloody, high casualty war was ended in all of about thirty seconds, but the more toads they found in their sinks, in their laundry, in their gutters, in their toilets... the more theyād wished their King had just...blown them up or something.
The threat continues to be used of course, but it puts everyone slightly more on edge than it did before, now that they know Merlin... can actually do it. And will, if he's tired enough.
~
I know this isn't exactly what you wanted anon, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway!! <3
i actually write in ao3 under the name of sahnshine lmao but iāve been avoiding opening it beCAUSE i feel so GUILTYYY AAA i have been having the WORST writerās block experience ohmgod im so sorry to all my readers ily so much but i just... so many distractions that I CANNOT finish my og stories AAAAA why do i have to have commitment issues rip get well soon #me
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