I have this idea for a Merlin fic (BBC), but since I don't have much time to even develop it… well, I'd like to give it up for adoption.
And what better place to give it up for adoption than this platform?
The basic idea is this: Merlin never had magic. In all his time and adventures with Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table… it's basically him achieving everything he achieved in canon, but based on some weird luck and self-loathing.
Like, he doesn't have a single drop of magic in his body, to say the least. Yes, he's still the son of Balinor and Hunith, but he's not capable of commanding dragons or anything similar.
In fact, he thinks the dungeon dragon is Uther's exotic war pet until someone explains its history to him.
But because he's managed to survive so much and overcome several trials that no one in their life could do without magic, many of the characters he interacts with believe he does have it. However, his ability to survive everything that happens to him is due to pure coincidences and Merlin's unorthodox methods to save the day.
The only ones in the castle who are convinced that Merlin doesn't have magic are Gaius, Gwen, Lancelot, the servants, and—against all odds—Uther. I mean, they've seen the boy; he doesn't have a single drop of magic in his body.
And if he did, it would be a curse. A lot has happened to him since he arrived in Camelot.
Both Arthur and the other Knights of the Round Table, Morgana, and Mordred, believe that Merlin does have magic, but he's just not very good at controlling it, or—as could be the case, from the more innocent perspective of the knights—that Merlin isn't aware he has magic and it's so instinctive that it only activates in moments of high risk.
This leads them all to believe they're keeping Merlin's magical secret… when magic never existed in the first place.
Even Morgana comes to resent Merlin, as in canon, only she doesn't do it because she feels betrayed by the poisoning attempt, but because she believes Merlin knows he has magic but won't tell anyone; she believes Merlin simply doesn't want to use his magic or wants to get rid of it, and that's why he never uses it.
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So, as you can see, this is the idea for a Merlin fic that came to me. And while I love it and have some key ideas for that universe, I don't have the time to develop it as I'd like, so I'd like some samaritan soul, a fan of the series, to adopt it.
Freaks by Jordan Clarke is basically a song about Arthur inviting the knights to the Round Table
Come to the land of the lost and lonely
Don't be afraid, we'll be one big family
Of freaks like you and me
I know a place where the bruised and broken
Live like the kings and the queens of tragedy
Just freaks like you and me
We are the freaks
What music do you think the knights of camelot and merlin would listen to? like if they had spotifys what would they be filled with? this is such a random thought I had omg im so sorry but id love to hear your thoughts!
I love this question!
・Merlin, Gwaine and Lancelot are diehard Whitney Houston fans
・Unholy by Sam Smith would definitely be in Arthur's and Gwaine's playlists
・They ALL love Ms Jackson by Outkast. It could probably be their group song - like when girls get excited in the club and all look at each other when their song comes on
𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧:
・He would LOVE Fleetwood Mac, especially Rhiannon and Dreams. He would turn that sh*t up and dance around the room with his eyes closed, absolutely vibing
・Kate Bush!!! Running Up That Hill!!!
・Also loves Greta Van Fleet, especially their song Heat Above
・His music taste is very indie, pop-rockesque
𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐫:
・Kings of Leon, would blush when he first heard Sex on Fire but absolutely fall in love with their 'Come Around Sundown' album
・Loves House of the Rising Sun but the cover by Muse
・The Arctic Monkeys. He would have their album AM, 24/7. It drives Merlin insane
𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐧:
・Really likes Leonard Cohen, particularly
・One of his favourite songs is O' Children” by Nick Cave. Another is Hoist That Rag by Tom Waits
・Leon likes music that touches the part of him that he doesn't show. The deep part, the emotional part.
・LOVES MITSKI!!!! Even though Mitski talks about women's issues, Leon can feel her through the music. He feels the exact emotion that Mitski does
𝐆𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞:
・ABBA he would die anytime Dancing Queen came on. Like do this lil squeal and pull Merlin onto the dancefloor
・Loves Kylie Minogue's Spinning Around - would totally make up a dance for it
・Lana Del Rey! Oh my god he would so romanticise himself when he listens to her music
𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐭:
・This could be argued but I kinda feel like he'd love heavy metal. Like Black Sabbath, Metallica, Led Zepplin
・Would LOVE the band Idles, especially Never Fight A Man With A Perm
・Is strongly against the fact that Elvis stole a lot of songs from the black community. Elyan showed him Big Mama Thornton's original of Hound Dog and he nearly transcended when he listened to it
𝐄𝐥𝐲𝐚𝐧:
・Destiny Child - can sing Say My Name word for word. Literally has perfect timing.
・Loves loves loves soulful, passionate music that has a lot of history or a story behind it
・Young Hearts Run Free by Candi Stanton
・Labrinth; Yeah I Fcken Did It & All For Us
・Double Trouble by Otis Rush. I think Elyan would love the electric guitar, the saxophone, but I also think he'd be really good at playing an instrument?? I'm thinking the drums or maybe even piano. Like a headcanon that his father or mother made him learn it when he was young, and he hated it but later on in life it's useful
𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥:
・He would love movie soundtracks/scores. Like Flying with Mother by John Powell (How to Train Your Dragon) and Dance of the Druids by Bear McCreary. He would have so much knowledge about movie scores that it shocks the other knights
One of my favorite headcanons is that the Knights of the Round Table know about Merlin's magic but one that I don't see as often is them actively trying to help Merlin hide it from Arthur even if it means gaslighting Merlin along with him. I can see it going a little something like this:
Merlin: *Doing his normal magic things with bandits*
*After The Fight*
Arthur: How did that branch fall down? Honestly, we need to look into what is wrong with these trees. Merlin could get hurt getting herbs for Gaius some innocent person could get hurt or worse-
Percival, Desperately coming up with an excuse: I do it.
Arthur: You- what?
Percival Committing to it: Did you not see me, my lord? I have been doing it for years. There is nothing to worry about.
Arthur, who is trying to think about how this could be possible: How-
Elyan, help Percival because that could have been the dumbest thing he could have said: It is true Sire. I have seen him do it multiple times in many different ways.
Merlin, wondering what the hell is going on knowing damn well he was the only one who does this: There is no way-
Lancelot, trying to get Merlin to shut up: You also didn't know this? Why he was over by the trees a lot. Did it with your sword a while once but it broke afterward so now you just rip and throw.
Arthur looking at Merlin: I mean he is by the trees a lot, but isn't he just making sure Merlin here doesn't get hurt?
Merlin, starting to wonder about his own sanity: There is no way that you are strong enough to do that. And I have never seen-
Gwaine, being Gwaine but still trying to help: Why your guy's memory is worst than mine after drinking. Maybe we need to have Gaius look at the 2 of you? Or are you busy thinking about other things .... ; )
Arthur, who is used to being gaslit by Merlin so he just goes with it: I guess I need to give you Percival thanks for doing that and for me not noticing your hard work.
Percival: Your welcome sire. I do everything I can to protect you.
Merlin, losing brain cells: But I am by the trees how did I never see you-
Leon:, going into mother hen mode partly so no one gets suspicious but is also serious: Why Merlin you need to pay more attention to your surroundings! If you don't-
Here is @eachpeachpearplume and I's collaboration! A big thank you to the @bbcmerlin-reversebang mods for organising the event! It was a blast and I loved working with Peach the entire time!
About the collab that you can find on AO3:
Title: All the Way Back You Held Out Your Hand
Creators: eachpeachpearplum and Laevateinn
Pairing: Gwaine/Percival
Rating and length: E, 14.4k
Tags: Curses, Werewolf Gwaine, Angst with a Happy Ending, Kidnapping, Animal Transformation, Getting Together, Canon-Typical Violence, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arm Wrestling, Tournaments
Summary:
It's not that Gwaine's complaining, not really, because this is definitely the friendliest conclusion he's ever seen to a kidnapping. It's way better than torture and starvation followed by either a dramatic rescue or his untimely demise, but yeah, being knocked unconscious, tied up in a shack, having gibberish chanted at him and then being let go again is very definitely strange.
Or: Gwaine gets kidnapped and cursed by an evil sorcerer, but it's okay
Merlin explaining to the knights what happened to him looking all disheveled and like he came out of a fight against dragons.
Merlin: I got to the room and Arthur was sitting on the bed with a scowl on his face…
Gwaine *laughs*: Uh-oh, did you mess up?
Merlin: Well, I hadn’t at the time, but I did later. Anyway, I saw he was angry and got worried, so I asked, “Did something happen?” I thought he would answer, but he just looked at me and said, “Nothing!😡”.
Merlin imitates the prince’s accent and the knights laugh at his imitation, he was very good at mimicking Arthur’s voice.
Merlin: That “Nothing” from Arthur seems to have a direct connection to the devil! When Arthur said “NOTHING!” it was almost like Morgana knew things were going to go wrong and came out from behind the curtain to cause more trouble! I could almost hear her saying, “Go, go, go, fight, fight!”.
Lancelot *drinks his beer*: Jesus, but what happened after all? Why was he so angry?
Merlin: So, that’s what I was trying to find out! So I asked and he replied, “If you did something, then you should know 😡”. So I told the truth, right, that I had no idea what I did. He looked at me and said, “Who is Freya?”.
Leon and Elyan took a deep breath understanding where the story was going, Gwaine and Percival choked on their beer and Lancelot bit his lip to keep from laughing at his friend’s misfortune.
Merlin: Yes, I know, it sounds funny, and it could have turned into a funny situation, but I got so nervous talking about my ex that the best answer I could come up with at the moment was “Which Freya?”
All the knights lost their smiles and were now just looking at Merlin in disbelief.
Elyan: That was so stupid to say, even for you!
Merlin: I know!
Leon: Merlin, if you knew Arthur was jealous, why did you say something so dumb!?
Merlin: I got nervous! But the worst part wasn’t even that, the worst part was that after I said that, I saw Morgana go “Ihhhh 😰” and run away! She left! She left me alone with angry Arthur! That coward! 😡
Gwaine fell to the floor laughing, Leon seemed to suffer from headaches due to the couple’s antics, Elyan just got up and left to laugh and maybe tell Gwen what Merlin said, Percival was just laughing shamelessly while drinking, and Lancelot was on the verge of a stroke while holding back his laughter. Merlin sometimes hated his friends, those idiots.
