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sevendeadlyheadcanons · 14 days

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I may get into the ask box or I may disappear for another 4 years.

but for now

The Seven Deadly Dungeons and Dragons

I don’t play DND but my girlfriend does and she’s sitting next to me so let’s go

-In this AU they’re all normal humans who just get together and play DND sometimes.

-Merlin is the DM.

-Merlin sits for hours writing all sorts of lore and intricate backstories only for them to commit their classic chaotic shenanigans and screw with all her plans. Luckily, she’s good at thinking on the fly.

-Meliodas plays as a halfling paladin from a noble background. His character’s goal is to get information and find his brother.

-Diane plays as a half elf barbarian (my gf thinks this is contradictory but in a fun way) (“she’s too pretty to be a half orc 🥺”)

-Her goal is to find her sisters murderer and bring them to justice.

-Ban would play a tiefling rogue. His goal is to revive his dead lover (Elaine is alive but she thinks DND is ‘nerd shit’ so she just stays at their home. sometimes she’ll come and watch them though)

-King would play a gnome cleric. He is from the fae realm however it recently got raided and he is seeking revenge from the perpetrators.

-Gowther would play as an automaton wizard. His goal is to find out what happened to his creator and gain a heart.

-Escanor would play as a half orc barbarian (when he rages it’s like his daytime form when he’s normal it’s his nightform)

-His goal is simply to find friends who don’t think he’s strange and he simply goes along with the gang because he feels accepted.

-Elizabeth would play as a aasimar cleric. Her character writes stories and is going on the adventure simply to find inspiration.

-They all gather together and play in Escanor’s basement. He makes a little food spread. They don’t appreciate him enough honestly.

-Escanor and King are chronic note takers. They have notebooks full of the lore.

-Diane also writes notes but she writes them aesthetically like

Liones is the country we live in

and highlights it in pastel. She never writes down useful information and spells everything wrong. King usually helps her with his notes.

-Ban forgets everything lore wise and all of his abilities. He never knows when he can use sneak attack and keeps getting in trouble for trying to pick pocket his party.

-“I just think it’d be funny if he wasn’t actually a good rogue because he’s so big”

-Gowther would keep getting the party in trouble by using dunamancy on random NPCs. Merlin is sick of his shit and having to rewrite the plot of her campaigns.

-Meliodas always has weirdly good roles. They have investigated whether his dice are rigged and they’re not he’s just crazy lucky.

-Elizabeth would put a lot of thought into her characters backstory and motives. She would have a very thought out lore.

-Hawk is Escanor’s cat that they all loved so much that they put him in the game as a pig that can eat ranged attacks if a 20 is rolled and also is immune to poison

-Gowther tries to romance every npc. He rolls nat 20 for every persuasion check and Merlin has to let him have the most rizz in game.

-The party all met in the Boar Hat and decided to help each other reach their goals.

-In this canon the Boar Hat can also move. Meliodas has a spell that can create the Boar Hat to be constructed infront of him.

-They all met in real life because Merlin works with Escanor and they got talking about it and she was like “Hold up let me bring my friend Gowther” and then Gowther invited Meliodas who then invited his girlfriend Elizabeth and best friend Ban and then Ban was like “Hold up we need this dude too” and invited King and King’s girlfriend was like “Omg i wanna join” yeah

-King would paint a lot of miniatures

-Elizabeth would be a dice fiend. She would have so many dice and a cute bag for them.

-Meliodas and Ban both use the same pair of black dice that have chipped paint. They just pull these crusty dice from their pockets. The numbers are barely legible anymore.

-Merlin makes her own dice out of resin and sells them on etsy.

#merlin nnt #gowther nnt #meliodas nnt #ban nnt #elizabeth nnt #king nnt #diane nnt #escanor nnt #nanatsu no taizai #the seven deadly sins #headcanons

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mask131 · 1 month

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Arthurian myth: Merlin (1)

Loosely translated from the article "Merlin" of the Dictionary of literary myths, under the direction of Pierre Brunet.

The literary fortune of Merlin was often dependent of the Arthurian literature. However, through its various resonances, the character gained its own seduction and its own popularity that allowed him to return outside of a medieval setting, gaining the status of an autonomous literary myth. He was at first the prophet of the Briton revenge, the one who had initiated the Round Table and who had inspired the errant-knighthood. Through his unique position between good and evil (he is born of a devil and a virgin), between life and death (his paradoxical survival within a “prison of air” or his vault), he embodies in modern times the enigma of History and of the future. Finally, he is the enchanter: causing or suffering many metamorphoses, he is a mythical builder and engineer, and sometimes a warlock/sorcerer. Merlin stays one of the prime heroes of the world of magic.

I/ Origins

The name and the character of Merlin appear for the first time within two Latin-written works of the second quarter of the 12th century, by the Welsh cleric Geoffroy of Monmouth: the “Historia Regum Britanniae” (1136) and the “Vita Merlini” (1148).

Nothing allows us to claim that a character named Merlin (Myrddin in Welsh) existed before these works. The very name of Merlin might have been an invention of Geoffroy, based on the name of the city of Kaermyrddin (today’s Carmarthen). It is also possible that Geoffroy used the phonetic similarity between the city and a “Merlin(us)” which belonged to the Armorican tradition (or more largely the continental one). However, Geoffroy of Monmouth did not start out of nothing. In the middle of the 12th century, Robert of Torigny, library of the abbey of Bec, claimed that two Merlin existed: a Merlin Ambroise/Ambrose (Ambrosius Merlinus) and a Merlin Sylvestre/Sylvester (Merlinus Silvester). This opinion was renewed thirty years later by Giraud of Cambria. Thes two names seem to correspond to two different traditions that Geoffroy joined:

1) “Merlin Ambrose” designates a character of the 6th century named Ambrosius. Gildas (in his “De Excidio et conquest Britanniae) made him the descendant of a Roman consulate family. Nennius( “Historia Britonum” presented him as a child born without a father, and whose mother had sex with an incubus – a tradition maintained by posterior authors. Nennius also provided the motif of the child revealing to the king Guorthigirn (Vortigern) the existence of two underground dragons preventing the building of his citadel. Discovered by the agents of the king at Kaermyrddin, the young Ambrosius interpreted the battle of the monsters as the omen of the long battles between the Briton and the Saxon. When Geoffroy retells this scene, he explicitly identifies Merln to this Ambrosius (“Merlinus, qui et Ambrosius dicebatur”).

2) “Merlin Sylvester” appears mainly in the “Vita Merlini”, and he seems to be the heir of older Celtic traditions. These traditions, shared by both Scotland and Ireland, depict a prince who lost his sanity and ran away into the forest, living there a wild existence while gaining supernatural powers. In Scotland it is Lailoken, known through the “Life of saint Kentigern”: on the day of the battle of Arfderydd (located by the “Cambriae Annals” at 573), this character, companion of the king Rodarch, heard a celestial voice condemning him to only have interactions with wild beasts [Translator’s note: The expression in French here is unclear if it speaks of human interactions or having sex, and I unfortunately can’t check the original Life of saint Kentigern right now]. Several predictions were attributed to him, predictions that the “Vita Merlini” places within Merlin’s mouth. Another incarnation of the “Merlin Sylvester” can be find back as early as the 8th century: in Ireland, the legendary king Suibne, turned mad after the battle of Moira, lived in trees (from which he ended up flying away), and shared similar traits with Lailoken. Similarly, in the Armorique there was the prophet Guinglaff, known through a verse-work of the 15th century “Dialogue entre le Roi Arthur et Guinglaff”.

The link between Merlin and those “wild men” becomes even more apparent thanks to several Welsh poems bearing the name “Myrddin”. Three of them belong to the “Black book of Carmarthen” (Welsh manuscript of the end of the 12th century) : The Apple-Trees (Afallenau), the Songs of the Pigs (Hoianau) and the Dialogue between Merlin and Taliesin (Ymddiddan Myrddin a Thaliesin). If the prophetic passages of these texts cannot be older than the Normand invasion, several lines where the bard talks to the trees and animals of the Caledonian forest (especially his pet-boar), complaining about his loneliness and his sorrow, could be the remains of a poem between 850 and 1050, which could be the oldest record of the Merlin legend.

Despite these many obscure origins, it seems that even before the publication of the “Historia Regum Britanniae” Merlin had awakened a certain interest within Geoffroy’s entourage, since Geoffroy decides to publish in 1134, due to the demands of several people including the bishop of Lincoln, a fragment of an unfinished work of his: the “Prophetiae Merlini”. Inspired by the Books of the Sybil, by the Apocalypse and by the prophetic imagery of Celtic and Germanic tribes, these “Prophecies”, that Geoffroy claimed to have translated from the language of the Briton, is first a record of several events that happened in Great-Britain since the Saxon invasion until the reign of Henry the First. Then, they announce in an obscure fashion the revenge of the Briton, and a series of disasters prefacing the end of the world. This text was a huge success: until the end of the Middle-Ages, these “Prophecies” were commented and quoted as equals to the holy Christian books. Alain of Lille, the “Universal Doctor”, wrote a commentary of the Prophecies in seven books. Merlin, first the great prophet of Wales, then of Scotland, was adopted in the 14th century by the England, which completely forgot the anti-Saxon origins of the character, and took the habit of beginning almost every speech by quoting a Prophecy of Merlin.

The ”Historia Regum Britanniae”, after the story of the two underground dragons and the text of the Prophecies, attributes to Merlin the building of Stonehenge, in the memory of Briton princes treacherously killed. Finally, it tells of how the prophet gave to the king Uter Pendragon magical potions that gave him the appearance of the husband of the duchess Ingern. A trick that allow the birth of the future king Arthur. As early as this first work, Merlin appears at the same time as a prophet and a wizard: a character claims that no one can rival with him when it comes to predicting the future, or accomplish complex machinations (“sive in futuris dicendis, sive in operationibus machinandis).

The ”Vita Merlini”, told in verse, completes Merlin’s biography by telling adventures of a very different tonality. Seer and king in the south of Wales, Merlin became mad after a deadly battle, and lived in the woods like a wild beast. Only the music of a zither can appease him. Led to the court of king Rodarch, chained in order to be kept there, he proves his gift of second sight throughout several “guessing scenes”. Before returning to the woods, he agrees to letting his wife Guendoloena marry again. However, on the day of the wedding, he appears with a horde of wild beasts, riding a stag. Ripping one of the antlers of his ride, he uses it to break the head of Guendoloena’s new husband. The rest of the text depicts Merlin as being saved by his sister Ganieda: he performs a series of astronomical observations and makes prophecies about the future of Britain. His disciple Thelgesin (identified with the Welsh bard Taliesin), back from the Armorique, joins him and they talk lengthily about nature. Finally, Merlin regains his sanity thanks to the water of a stream that just appeared, but he refuses to rule again and stays faithful to the forest.

#merlin #arthuriana #merlin the enchanter #arthurian myth #arthurian literature #welsh mythology #myrddin

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film-score-simp · 7 months

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OKAY FOOLS HOW YALL DOING IM BACK AFTER BEING DEAD FOR LIKE MONTHS-

See, I had a Thought which the Merlin fandom might be interested in. Especially the fanfic writers.

I was browsing Pinterest, as you do, and stumbled across a few tumblr posts instead of actually looking on the site… again, as you do.

And I came to a fun idea.

So y’know how with some pieces of fantasy media they go ‘oh with the amount of stupidity here this is totally a D&D game’?

Well… that, but Merlin.

Like we already have scenes that would totally fit the bill of a D&D game. The whole scene with old Merlin and the knights with the stepping stool onto the horse is just so unbelievably D&D, and I can imagine the scene with the “..reading poetry.” as just real bad persuasion/deception rolls from both Merlin AND Arthur.

Just imagine the chaos.

Here are my personal headcanons for their classes, but feel free to debate about it:

Merlin: Sorcerer. This man is too much of an idiot to be a wizard (though he DOES get hurt enough to be one), and I reckon being a wild magic sorcerer would totally fit the bill. He’s powerful, but hijinks must ensue- thus, the wild magic. Or perhaps not. People might assume it’s wild magic and turns out it’s just Merlin thinking he’s funny.

Arthur: Bard. Immediately. He’s got paladin energy as in like the ‘Chosen One’ and also he’s a knight, but he’s so stupid and also charismatic that he just gives bard to me. Like he’s so stupid and charismatic with literally everything, that Merlin ended up liking him. Like this man is a himbo that dresses brightly.

Morgana: Absolutely a warlock. She would have so much fun with eldritch blast, and being weird and spooky totally fits her vibe later in the series. She would probably be the one to sometimes have the braincell in the party and use her magic responsibly… but also eldritch blast. You gotta use eldritch blast-

Mordred: I don’t think he has chill enough vibes for the druid stereotype, but he definitely could be a druid. Giving funky nature powers to this kid would really be a hilarious idea. Like imagine Mordred with wild shape. I also think he has the possibility of being the Dionysus kind of druid… y’know, the greek god who turned people into dolphins just because? Yeah, him.

Gwaine: Barbarian. Or fighter. He may be a knight, sure, but with the amount of bar brawls he gets into? Absolutely. The fool definitely would fist fight someone in a dark alleyway at 2AM, it’s just what he’s like. He likes to hit people and drink alcohol- it just fits his whole MO.

Percival: Also a barbarian. His entire thing is strength, and the ‘little man’ comment just screams of a man with high intimidation. He may be a gentle giant and not going for the whole stereotype of angry rage beast, but this guy can totally scare without it.

Lancelot: Lancelot is a paladin. He’s the very epitome of ‘Good Boy.’ This guy is such a Righteous knight and just a generally cool person that I think that a god straight up WOULD get in contact to have him fight for the forces of good. I love this man so much. I also love paladins. Perfect combo.

Elyan: Elyan’s a cleric. He’s caring and loyal, as well as not bullying Merlin regularly. He’s also pretty cunning so possibly rogue there as well? I’d be more inclined to lean towards cleric the most though, cause he’s one of the most chill knights and also balances out the chaos of Gwaine and Percival as a duo… they’re nuts-

Leon: Also a paladin. Less of a ‘pure and true soul’ guy like Lancelot, but more of a ‘stands for what’s right and upholds the law’ kind of paladin. Like he’s totally a follower of chivalry with all the traditional ways of doing things- always respectful and polite but just kinda a little at arms length.

Guinevere: Stereotypical druid. Totally a tree-hugger and loves plants. Also she gets to be a Disney princess now and talk to animals in forests. Living out her best life in the forest with her whole cottagecore aesthetic. Even with her becoming queen, she’s totally still a druid. Albeit a royal one now.

Gaius: Oh he’s so gonna be an artificer. But specifically an alchemist artificer. He can make healing potions and mix weird medicines together, sure, but jesus christ the old man gets into just as many shenanigans as the main group. I mean, the whole possession fiasco with the goblin is enough proof for that-

(And before anyone tells me a character’s missing, it’s been a while since I watched the series, I’m trying my best hhhh-)

#merlin #bbc merlin #dnd #dnd campaign #dnd headcanons #merlin headcanons #dnd merlin crossover #headcanon #joke headcanon #fandom #merlin fandom #yes we’re still alive #we’re just lying in wait #like arthur- gkghkgkgkgk #but yeah these are my opinions

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uefb · 4 months

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Chapter One of Aimez-vous les uns les autres (Love One Another) posted today, sequel to Far Away from Temple After Sunset

Summary: It’s Christmas Eve and the first night of Hanukkah when Newt and Tina are injured in an action against Grindelwald, whereafter they are evacuated with Theseus & co. by the Magical Resistance to a small church in rural France. Dealing with curse-exhaustion, landmine injuries, and travel through Nazi- and Grindelwald-occupied regions isn’t how either of them expected to spend the holidays, but—-in the big scheme of things—-there were, arguably, worse ways to finish 1940… In the end, the experience brings them closer together and—-back in England—-holidays with their families give them paradoxical hope for shared peace in the years to come. (Written for @afrenchaugurey!)

Excerpt (opening scene):

Newt had woken up in an extraordinary number of incredibly strange places in his life, but—for him—coming to on top of a hay bale in the back of a Muggle lorry was really maybe the strangest.

In fact, if he weren’t so groggy, he certainly would have done more than a double-take to find his injured leg elevated on the thighs of what appeared to be an actual Christian pastor, sitting on the haystack directly beside him. Newt moved his arm to scratch at his nose then, only to fuzzily realise he’d been warmly tucked into what was definitely said pastor’s clerical robes, so he ultimately only succeeded in hitting himself in the face with its massive sleeves...

The pastor had looked up at him by then to offer a smile, but Newt’s mind still wasn’t up to its normal speed—though his heart felt like it was pounding doubletime—so he broke the gaze as fast as he could, casting about for his brother, who must have heard the shift of his head because—

“Merlin’s beard!” — A voice from across and behind him in the truck, and then Theseus had knelt on the dusty boards beside him, fingers instantly feeling at his wrist and neck for pulse and pressure, before pulling back to balance on his haunches, brows furrowed. “You are drugged to the gills, little brother... How in Gamp’s good name are you awake?” [1]

As the truck bounced over a particularly deep pothole, Newt couldn’t help throwing the robe’s sleeve over his eyes to hide his discomfort. Beside him, he could hear Theseus saved from falling on his rump thanks to the soft thump of one of the maquisards’ boots at his back.

“Humans don’t have gills,” he finally murmured through gritted teeth. “And to answer your question, I’ve developed a rather unfortunate resistance to a number of common substances, that’s why I’m awake…” A beat and a frown. “Where’s Tina?”

“You’re on her, Newt.”

He uncovered his face, tilting his head back to see what he was pillowed on, only to be met with the gentle dip at the top of his wife’s thighs; the scratch of her warm, wool coat; the subtle scent of her perfume that always reminded him of camping for pleasure (not work) in Puzzlewood Forest… [2]

He twisted back further for a better look (and he caught a glimpse of her, too—head low and pillowed on Auror Voorhees’ shoulder, deeply asleep), but Theseus put a hand on his chest to urge him back down before he could better assess her.

“Stop moving. Macmillan’s stability spells on your leg are already being tested by these roads...”

Newt relaxed reluctantly into the dry hay, and Theseus thoughtfully transfigured a handkerchief into a towel to tuck beneath his neck when he noticed him grimace at the texture.

“Look,” he reassured, “she’s fine — just utterly exhausted. She’ll be good as new with a few cautionary countercurses and a couple days’ rest. And we hope to be able to say the same for you soon.”

“So - where are we going then?” Newt countered with quiet acceptance, glancing from the pastor to Theseus and back again. “And - and what is he doing here?”

“Don’t worry,” Theseus reassured glibly. “He’s a squib.”

#need to do a tiny bit of editing for geographic and magical clarity but it’s here for now!#my stuff #tina goldstein #newt scamander #Theseus scamander #shameless hurt/comfort #holiday fic #jewish tina goldstein #autistic newt scamander #fantastic beasts fanfic #scamander brothers #chapter 1 of 4 #I write the scamanders as largely non-religious bc it’s easier for me bc that’s how I was raised so this has been a fun fic #to learn more about certain cultures - customs - history etc!!#fantastic beasts and where to find them

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mediawhorefics · 1 year

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✨📚 fav reads of the year 2022 edition

brokeback mountain // annie proulx ➡️ short story | romance | lgbt+ | 1960s

angels in america // tony kusher ➡️ theatre | lgbt+ | 1980s | hiv-aids

the normal heart // larry kramer ➡️ theatre | lgbt+ | 1980s | hiv-aids

bent // martin sherman ➡️ theatre | lgbt+ | 1930s | nazi germany

parfumerie // miklós lászló ➡️ theatre | 1930s | two retail coworkers who can't stand each other have yet to realise they've been falling in love with each other through anonymous letters.

the charm offensive // alison cochrun ➡️ romance | lgbt+ | tv reality inspired | discussions of mental health | dev is a helpless romantic who works as a producer on a bachelor-like reality tv show. when the show casts disgraced tech billionaire charlie, he couldn’t be further from the perfect prince charming the show needs. and yet, as dev helps him open up to the female contestants on the show, the two develop a strong bond that makes charlie question his sexuality and dev his professional ethic.

the binding // bridget collins ➡️ romance | historical fantasy | 19th c. | lgbt+ | santalone | in a world where books are dangerous objects containing people's painful memories they want to get rid of, emmet farmer is sent to become an apprentice to the local bookbinder after he had some sort of mental collapse.

the house in the cerulean sea // tj klune ➡️ fantasy | lgbt+ | contemporary | found family | standalone | 40 yo caseworker linus baker is given a special secret assignment to check out an orphanage of supposedly particularly dangerous magical children. linus has been a rule follower and someone who doesn't want to rock the boat his whole life, but the children and their caretaker make him reconsider previously held beliefs.

a marvellous light // freya marske ➡️ romance | lgbt+ | historical fantasy | edwardian england | himbo/bookworm pairing | robin blyth gets thrown into an unknown world of magic when a clerical error sees him filling the post of liaison between the regular world and a hidden magical society. there’s a lot to untangle: his predecessor disappeared under mysterious circumstances, his counterpart in the magical bureaucracy is prickly and cold, and he just got cursed for information he most definitely does not possess.

the bedlam stacks // natasha pulley ➡️ romance | lgbt+ | historical fantasy | 19th c. | magical realism | standalone | merrick tremayne is called upon by the india office to go on a dangerous expedition deep in peru to fetch quinine (essential for the treatment of malaria) despite the debilitating injury that almost cost him a leg. every expedition before his has yielded no results apart from dead bodies, but merrick has family history deep in the country so he goes against his better judgement. there, he meets raphael, a priest surrounded by strange stories of disappearances, cursed woods and living stones, and who might hold the key to his family's past.

i kisssed shara wheleer // casey mcquiston ➡️ ya fiction | romance | contemporary | lgbt+ | a month before graduation, chloe green's academic rival shara kisses her before disappearing. now, chloe is on a hunt for answers alongside unlikely allies.

the other merlin // robyn schneider ➡️ ya fiction | fantasy | arthuriana | retelling | bbc merlin meets a knight's tale but make it gay | years after her father's, legendary court wizard merlin, disappearance, emry takes her far less talented twin brother's place when he is summoned to camelot to train and become prince arthur's right hand wizard. studying magic properly is everything she hoped for, but posing as her brother isn't as easy as it seems. not to mention those sparks that are flying between her and arthur.

book lovers // emily henry ➡️ romance | contemporary | enemies to lovers | nora stephens is a big city cutthroat literary agent, the opposite of a laid-back, small-town, lovable romance novel heroine. which is why her sister drags her to the picturesque town setting of one of nora's client's books for a month-long holiday/life makeover. of course, once she's there she runs into charlie lastra, a no-nonsense book editor she knows (and loathes) from nyc.

v for vendetta // alan moore ➡️ graphic novel | science fiction | dystopia | alternate history | in a future british dystopian society, a shadowy freedom fighter, known only by the alias of "V", plots to overthrow the tyrannical government - with the help of a young woman.

time is a mother // ocean vuong ➡️ poetry | lgbt+

dracula // bram stoker ➡️ horror | gothic fiction | 19th c. | y'all know what this is about.

brotherhood // mike chen ➡️ star wars | anakin & obi-wan adventure set right after aotc

master & apprentice // claudia gray ➡️ star wars | qui-gon & obi-wan adventure set before tpm

padawan // kiersten white ➡️ star wars | 16 yo obi-wan heads out on his own for a solo mission in the midst of doubts about his master. and his pace in the order.

#books #book rec #lit stuff #about me

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sboochi · 1 year

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So y'all remember my rotbtd fantasy/dnd-inspired designs? I have sketches ready for Snow White and Merlin, but I was thinking... I really like doing these, and I kinda want to make the Guardians in this style, but I'm struggling to choose their classes.

So! If anyone wants to give me their opinions, suggestions, etc, I'd be happy to read them and get some ideas from someone who knows dnd classes better than me!

This is what I managed to come up with:

North: barbarian, fighter, basically something so he can use his swords (I can't remember their technical name, sorry)

Bunny: either monk (he knows Tai Chi), druid or ranger, but if someone finds something better, I'm all ears

Toothiana: she's a struggle, I really have no idea for her.... maybe a cleric, since I've never drawn one??

Sandy: warlock could be cool (with the Moon as a patron), but idk

#i thought of making a poll but ive heard some people have issues with those #rotg #text #rotbtd fantasy!au

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andiwriteordie · 1 year

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👋👋👋 tell me your idea for the Merlin/Byler au? 👀👀👀👀👀

toy of COURSE i will tell you my idea for a merlin/byler au. i will like to say first though. because i need somebody to know and i'm being whiny. that i just slammed by finger into my door and it HURTS OH MY GOD.

anyways, first of all, i wrote this half asleep at 5 something in the morning, but this is what i imagined as the opener:

This is a tale of two young men, born to meet one another and to always be by each other’s side. Two sides of the same coin, some might call it. Destiny, others might say.

But destiny is a delicate thing, its strings woven loose yet tight, and the decisions one makes can often begin to unravel those threads, changing them into an entirely new tapestry all together.

This tale is an unusual one.

Because this tale is one that begins where it ends.

so the idea that i was thinking of was to start with how merlin ends, where like we meet will and mike at the end of their story together. will would be like merlin (Most Powerful Warlock™️) and mike would be like arthur (the noble king/knight destined to lead and guide), except destiny is unraveling at its seams. mike is dying, and will can't do anything to save him. even with all his power, he can't save mike's life, so will just holds mike as he dies.

will, like merlin, would be immortal in this, and he would get to hold onto the promise given by the dragon at the end that mike would return—that their destiny and their story together is not yet complete. when the world needs him again, mike is going to return, and until then, all will can do is wait for him. and so, will says goodbye to his best friend and the person he loves most (though the two of them never explicitly say it to one another, which is part of the tragedy), and he leaves the lake alone.

we flash forward, around 1,500 years later to the year 1970, and some way or another, will gets some sort of magical dream that lets him know that soon mike is going to come back, and that he has a choice: he can choose to essentially die and be reborn so he can mike grow up together, because destiny will always bring the two of them together, or he can continue to wait and just find mike again and

the choice gives will an out of sorts. a chance to start over, and though he initially thinks it would be best for mike if he just waits those years until mike is older and it's time for their destiny to kick into full gear, he's prompted by whatever magic-y figure is presenting him with this choice and he's encouraged to make a choice that is for him too. because will has been alone all this time and his heart is heavy, so being reborn would give him that chance to start over and to begin again. it's promised that when destiny does arrive and the time is right, will and mike will both learn of their shared past again (something we'll say with a mix of will's magic and just the general magic existing in the cosmos and stuff), so will agrees to this.

march 22, 1971. will byers is born. a little over 2 weeks later, on april 7, 1971, mike wheeler is born. destiny begins to weave its tapestry again.

the next scene, we see will around late 1983/early 1984 in the direct aftermath of his kidnapping into the upside down. his dreams consist of the trauma he experienced in the upside down of course, and though the memories themselves are foggy, he keeps coming back to his last few hours in the upside down, being intubated and nearly dying. and in foggy memories and moments interspersed between will's near death experience, he begins to dream of his and mike's past life together. these dreams only show fragments—will using his magic and protecting mike's life, mike as a brave knight and a king protecting will in return. it's easily shrugged off by will as him projecting. after all, they're a cleric and a paladin in dnd, right? so that makes sense.

(that doesn't change the terror though that will experiences when his dreams begin to show himself—several years older, weeping as mike dies in his arms. that grief feels paralyzing, and the dream keeps getting interrupted, flashing back and forth between the upside down and his old memories).

next scene, we pick up late 1985/early 1986 in lenora hills, california. will is trying to adjust. he still has nightmares, but they're less focused on the upside down now. the dreams of himself and mike in their past lives are clearer—amplified by the mind flayer's connection from 1984. but there's no way they could be memories, right? how would that even work? and will doesn't have magic. el has magic, not will. he's just will. so will keeps this part of his life quiet, not telling anyone.

one day though, we see a soft willel moment where el opens up to will about losing her own magic—how it feels like a part of her is missing. she's always been forced to use her magic in violent manners, and it scared her for a long time. but now that it is gone, there's a strange sense of warmth lacking. like an old friend is missing, and she just feels different. this prompts will to ask her what it's like... having magic, and so el does her best to explain it.

and it's familiar. there's a tingling in the back of will's next, and something inside him whispers, "this is familiar. you knew this already. you know this. you do."

he tries not to think about it too much.

next scene. november 6, 1986. the world is ending, will byers is living in mike wheeler's bedroom, and one night changes everything.

for the first time, the dream of mike's death comes back in full clarity, and will relives it again. the feeling of desperation and of loss and of love. watching the light fade from mike's eyes and seeing him take his final breath. the dragon's promise to him—that mike would return and that will's job was to simply wait and be ready for him when he arrives. saying goodbye to mike, watching his body disappear in a boat across the lake, further and further from will's view until—

will wakes up with a gasp. he can't see it, but his eyes are glowing a bright, familiar golden. the lights mike's bedroom all shine brighter than they ever have before, and then, they explode.

"shit!" will hears, because mike's awake too. he woke up barely a minute before will did, and he's kneeling down next to will, staring at him with shock in his eyes.

the two of them sit there in silence for moments that feel like an eternity, shattered glass surrounding them, and the moonlight streaming through the window. the memories are back, coming to will all at once. the floodgates have opened, and will remembers. he remembers.

and judging by the look on mike's face, he remembers too.

they move in perfect unison together, and they just embrace. because they both know. they both remember. and the two of them just sit there, and they cry together, because they're will byers and mike wheeler right now, but they've been will and mike for years and years and years before that. and they're together again, and the world is huge and overwhelming, but for just a moment, the only thing that matters is that they're together again.

second to last scene - the next morning. mike's room is now repaired, thanks to will's magic. they're sitting on mike's bed together, knees knocking against each other, shoulders pressed against one another. they have so, so much history together, and how do they even begin to try and fully understand all of it? plus, there are still so many things that will never got to tell mike, and mike, he's a bit hurt that will never shared those things in their first life, but he thinks he understands. he understands why will had to hide those parts from him. but he wishes will didn't have to.

will's eyes flicker to the painting he'd made for mike, now hanging on his wall. ironic, huh, that he would paint himself as a cleric, a wizard... and mike as the knight leading the charge. destiny must think it's funny. he's been carrying the weight of his lie with him since march of this year, and now, he sees how much the weight of his lies hurt mike when they were alive the first time. how he could've saved them both so much grief, and how maybe if he had opened up to mike and trusted him... things could've been different.

this situation... it's not quite the same, but the fear feels the same. it's the same for will, feeling like he has to hide a part of himself from mike, out of fear of rejection, out of a fear of losing mike, out of knowing society doesn't accept people like him.

but this is his second chance, right? how many people get a chance to make amends like this? and will is older now, and he's wiser too. he remembers the 1,500 years he was alone, and in just one night, he's changed. he's not quite the young, scared 15 year old that he was. he is, but he isn't. he's also someone who has lived and watched people die and who has waited and who knows how much he's always loved mike.

so, will chooses to be honest with mike. they talk about the magic first and the lies there, but it's a segue into the conversation about the painting. mike knows that it wasn't from el. but he thinks that will just lied to be a good friend. they fought about it, and in the end, they left it be—just a point of contention and tension in the same way the rain fight was.

will tells him everything—the true intention behind the painting. how he, will byers, has always admired mike wheeler and how mike's his best friend and how the feelings just developed into something more. but also how he, will, fell in love with mike... a long, long time ago. how he knew it, but also knew they'd never be able to be together. how he'd accepted that his place was simply at mike's side, protecting him and guiding him as best as he could. how he was content with that, but deep down also always dreamed of something more when they were alive together. how his years without mike only solidified the fact that will loves mike truly, deeply, fully, and how he plans to be here for mike, in whatever way that looks like and whatever way makes mike happy.

it gets quiet in the room. and mike looks a little stunned at first, still trying to take in all of will's words. patience, though, is something will has learned over his life, and he gently tells mike that he doesn't have to say anything right now. that mike can take the time to think about it too—

and mike cuts him off by kissing him.

it's short and desperate but also hesitant and a little fearful. mike pulls away, his eyes wide, and he looks young. they're both still young, even though they've had entire lives as adults (and then some more for will lol). and he quietly admits that he, mike wheeler, has been so confused recently. because he's been told his whole life that boys... aren't supposed to love other boys like that. that he shouldn't have these feelings for his best friend, so he's been hiding and running from this part of himself—the part that does have feelings for his best friend, will byers.

but also, that he, mike, the one who knew will long ago had fallen just as deeply in love with him while they were together. it was never an option to love will like this. mike always had his life planned out and written for him—the knight, the prince, the king. he had to have an heir. he had to rule their kingdom. he couldn't be with will.

but god, he could keep will close. maybe it was selfish to keep him so close while knowing he loved will as something more than they could ever be, but then again, mike thinks he's always been a little selfish. and he could swallow back that lump in his throat that formed every time will smiled at him or made a teasing joke or did anything really, because every moment with will made mike feel like he was falling more and more in love.

he almost told will, that day... when he died. he almost said that—instead of the "thank you" he gave will instead. but something stopped him. a feeling that... their story wasn't over yet. that a better time would come to share those words with will.

and so, mike looks will in the eye and in the softest, most gentle voice, he confesses his love for will.

the two of them kiss again. will's magic makes the lights glow again, and mike laughs, making some comment that this is going to take some getting used to. will points out that it's been a good 15 years since he's used his magic... so it's gonna take some getting used to for him as well.

it becomes clear to both of them that they were brought back together for a reason—and that reason has to do with the upside down and with henry. henry's powers, like el, are magic based, and so now, the playing field is leveled with will's magic. hell, the scales have tipped in their favor because of will's magic. this is their destiny. this is how they're going to save the world. and you see a moment of weariness from will, who recognizes this, and recognizes the burden they're sharing.

mike gently pulls him close, pressing a kiss to will's forehead, and he just tells will that they can figure all of this out later. destiny's waited this long, right? they can be selfish. they can just be together.

and so, the scene just ends with them sitting there, arms wrapped around each other, and sitting in peaceful silence. and nothing else matters other than the fact that they're together.

the final little part would be a section to mirror the opening part, talking about destiny. how these two were brought together and born to find each other. how destiny's tapestry is still being woven and how choices will impact that. and how the tale isn't over yet, but that there's hope in the ending of this story, because will and mike are together once more.

pHEW did i just outline this whole fic in your ask? yep. that's the merlin/byler au that i was thinking of this morning. i have some slight thoughts on how i could expand the world (making other characters line up/parallel other merlin characters and being reincarnated versions of their past lives), but idk i haven't given too much thought to that and probably wouldn't go as far as to write that! but this oneshot... yeah, definitely adding it to my list lol.

#byler #byler ficlet #byler/merlin au #andi's asks #does this count as cleradin #i feel like it’s pretty damn close

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seadeepy · 9 months

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WIP poll tag game

I got tagged by @vanillahigh00 (thank you!) and I'm honestly curious to see how many votes I get on my weird collection of WIPs.

Rules: Make a 24-hour poll with the names of your WIPs and then for whichever wins, write one sentence for every vote it gets.

I'm tagging @akorah @nachtwaechterin @androgynosaurus @blackandwhiteandrose and @schitthappens

(If you like tag games, let me know! I'm always looking for more ppl to tag in this stuff. Alternatively, if you don't care and want me to stop tagging you, lmk that too)

#tagged #wr

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amewinterswriting · 9 months

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Name Meaning Tag

I've been tagged by both @winterandwords and @ahordeofwasps! Thanks! My character names are either really carefully thought out for hours (with multiple dictionaries, google translate and enough baby name websites open that advertisers think that I, a committed childfree lesbian on birth control is pregnant...) or I give them a quick placeholder name that somehow sticks. Some highlights from Magic's Servant:

Talli

A common Welsh name, so I didn't research much when I named her - I was aiming for a name that wouldn't raise any eyebrows to a Welsh audience. According to some sources, it means: “shining brow” or “shining forehead” (from “tal” = forehead/brow + “iesin” = shining). Unfortunately, as someone with just enough Welsh to be dangerous, I'm pretty sure that's entirely made up, given that tall = tal and shining = disgleirio. In my humble opinion, it's probably a modernised version of the name Taliesin, who was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the Book of Taliesin.

Cerberus

Obviously named for the Greek three-headed dog guarding the underworld. He's a cat. That does get pointed out. Even Talli doesn't take his name at face value. It's almost as if he's deliberately chosen an ill-fitting name, but why?

Eira

Welsh for snow. She's a white dove, and there is a significance to the idea of white feathers falling like snow in her name. That's about as much as I can say there...

Ryn

Short for Aderyn, which is bird in Welsh. This one would raise eyebrows to a Welsh audience - it's not really a name, it's a noun. That's intentional - she has hippie parents who liked the sound of a nature name in a language they don't speak. Kinda the cultural equivalent of getting a tattoo you believe says 'courage' but actually says 'chicken fried rice'. Hence why she prefers to shorten it.

Viola

Actually short for Violet, which is fairly obvious in terms of meaning. In universe, she has a very solid reason for disliking her given name and preferring her nickname, namely: [redacted for spoilers].

Amato and Desidero

Beloved and wish/desire in Italian, respectively. Similarly, not actual names, but they do tell a heck of a story just by close proximity to each other, huh?

Myrddin

Original form of Merlin. So fun fact, we can pretty much trace the name change in Arthurian myth to one Geoffrey of Monmouth, who was a cleric who wrote down and embellished a lot of the original myths and legends, mostly to sell on the continent. France was particularly into chivalrous romances at the time so a lot of his changes were made for a French audience and apparently Myrddin sounds a little too close to merde...hence the name changed to Merlin. But since this is a story steeped in Welsh culture and experiences, I'm deliberately using Myrddin.

Tagging: @red-pen-ally, @jay-avian, @sam-glade and OPEN for anyone who read this far and wants to give it a go!

#tag games #character name tag #magic's servant #ame talks

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