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tansyuduri · 5 hours

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Merlin Loregasm Rewatch S1E6 (Part1)

Hi Everyone! Welcome to my rewatch of Merlin focusing on the lore. I am a giant nerd so pretty excited about this. We’re on A REMEDY TO CURE ALL ILLS

(Hoo boy theres gonna be a LOT of lore in this one! Let's go!)

Ok more examples on how medical knowledge in Camalot is HUGLY advanced despite still beliving in Humorism and four elements. Gaius originally blames Morgana's condition on inflammation of the brain perhaps caused by infection. Infection itself was not understood and tended to be blamed on bad air, god, planetary conjunction, or natural disasters (Mostly bad air and god if it was a widespread contagion though) Some folk healers DID know how to tend it with herbs! The idea that an infection could be inside or effect distant areas like the brain in this kinda way is pretty advanced. Again I chalk this up to the world having magic. Another tool to understand what is going on around them that real history did not.

Gaius: see if you can find me some fresh rosemary and Yarrow

Rosemary and Yarrow can be combined to help achy joints, inflamed muscles, nerve pain, wounds, bruises, swelling, inflammation, and sprains Rosemary also stimulates circulation and blood flow

The idea of a remedy to cure all ills was very much a thing. It was called a panacea and was around as an idea from Greek times and named after a Greek goddess of medicine. Elements and Humors ALSO came from greek times, Greeks were hugely influential in science. It was greatly sought by alchemists and people of learning. This is likely part of why Arthur was not like GTFO. (Even if he was not interested in the offer at first out of loyalty to Gauis) More on this in a sec

Arthur: He says he has a remedy to cure all ills

Gaius: Impossible

Arthur: For Morgana's sake surely we should at least hear him out. I mean what have we go to loose. Please father

Gaius: Probably some Charlatan hoping for a quick shilling

Arthur: I don't care if she is about to die what harm can it do!?

Two things to address here. First of all Gaius is not pulling the charlatan idea out of nowere Or the impossible. As much as a Panacrea was believed to exist. There was no proof of the concept. One might hear about it existing in distant lands or the like. But someone like Gaius might be skeptical of the concept after his MANY MANY years spent in medical practice. Its possible he tried and failed to create it himself too. FURTHERMORE selling a supposed Panacrea was a thing MANY MANY charlatans did. It was perfect for praying on desperate people.

Now onto Shilling, I belvie this is the only time a unit of money is mentioned specifically in Merlin. It originalted from an anglo saxon phrase that meant twentieth of a pound. It was intoduced as "Shilling" much later in history. So I belive it is being used here as a generalism for a small amount of money. I don't think there are actually shillings in the Merlin universe. BUT one never knows. There are a lot of other historicaly inacurate things. Its part of what makes the show so fun!

This checks out Alchemy was thought to be the way to create a Panacrea . It was mainly focused on finding a way to create enternal life and gold though the philosophers stone. (More in later eppisodes) But it was also the forerunner of modern chemistry thus a physician would use a LOT of the same equipment!

Okay in Medieval times this would normally be known as apoplexy. It came from, the greek word apoplexia meaning to be stuck down suddenly with violance, Apoplexy meant when a person was struck down for seemlingly no reason without conviousness or motion maintaining pulse and breathing and later came cover things like stokes or Cerebral Hemorrage. It was still though this was caused by Humoral issues. This would presist to near modern day. It was not until 1658 that Cerebral Hemorage was first identified as a thing diferant from other types of Apoplexy So again Medicine in BBC Merlin is WAY ahead of its time. I will chalk it up in these case once again to the existance of magic, but ALSO to the fact that autopsies were likley a thing! (I've said this many times but this is more evidence to my theory as autopsies were integral of seperating apoplexy into diferant things.)

Morgana uses the word Heaven here. While the word usualy has a conotation of christianity/jusdism/islam it can also mean pagan afterlives. Still I'm making a note in case it becomes important later.

Gaius: I wish to see the court records for the time of the great purge

Geoffery: what possible need could you have for those.

Gaius: I fear that the past may have come back to haunt us

Geoffery: all the mroe reason to keep the records hidden

Gaius: I know that neither of us wants to remember that time, but this is a matter of great urgency.

Geoffery: The record are sealed they cannot be oppened. Uther has forbidden it.

Okay we need to examine WHY Uther might have forbidden it. He has no trouble thinking about it. He has no issue mentioning it. The first episode is a celebration of it!

I mean the fact he was later tormented be seeing the souls of those he killed MIGHT hint he had some regrets about what he did? But he might just have been terrified to see them back? And compared to everything else where he seems to have no regrets?

SOOO perhaps It has to do with Ygraine's death and Arthur's birth. But they can't have recorded what they did right? Since that is a big secret? OR DID they somehow record it and Geoffery was actually one of the few in the know? Perhaps he never looked at the documents? WHY WOULD YOU RECORD IT?

If Nimueh was indeed court sorceress perhaps Uther doesnt want Arthur to be able to look at the records and see OH dad had a court sorceress that escaped just after I was born!

I'm KINDA a bit stumped here UNLESS

the line "I know neither of us wants to remember that time" Okay sure it could be Geoferry just doesnt want to remember all the people dying. BUT could it mean he was into magic too? Or had a loved one who was into magic? Was he actually IN on Arthurs birth too? Or told about it. DID THEY ACTUALLY RECORD THAT SHIT? WHY? I think they possably actually recorded it. It makes the most sence because storywise this could then be another hint at the mystery of Arthur's birth that is a bit of a focus this season and is being built up.

Okay Angels are not pagan at ALL. they are christian/jewish/muslim (and a few others) So we have a point towoerd at elast one of those being comon place in the merlin world. I know some fans debate camalot being some form of early christian which is why I am paying attention to all these little religion things.

My currant working theory is that there is a weirdly pagan or pagan-ajasent version of christianity that is left over from when the romans where in control. And has had a long time to blend with the traditional godess religion/culture in isolation of other christian sects. Thus a "New Religon" existing.

This is what he says giving over the records. Which okay? I mean they both likley already know what is inside. but I guess disobeying a direct order from Uther can be a death sentance? I feel like there is somthing I am missing.

I think him mentioning this is really intersting. BECAUSE the dreams are not gonna stop. He has no reason to think they will stop. So by implying they were a warning for her condition. So either he plans to bring the condition back, Or is counting on the fact he is not going to stay for too long. He can chalk them up to her recovering sure. but eventually she will recover. Just an intersting hint that he knows he will not be staying too long.

Gaius: I often wondered what happened to that poor young boy

Edwin: I told you we've never met before

Gaius: I didn't realize who you were until I check the records you used your mother's maiden name. You are Gregor and Jaden's Son

Edwin: They were freinds of yours.

Gaius: They were sorceres

Edwin: They practiced magic, so did a lot of people back them Gaius.

Gaius: Uther will be furrius when he finds out who you are

Edwin: Fine, Fine shall we tell him? lets go tell him. Lets tell him, Lets tell him everything ooh! I know we could also tell him about Merlin?

Gaius: merlin?"

Edwin: you didn't know he was a sorcerer? Tsk, ahhh I wonder what Uther will do. Problubly have him burned? Gaius: you would betray another sorccerer

Edwin: You did when you turned a blind eye and let my parents die at the hands of Uther. At least Merlin doesnt have a son that will try to rescue him from the flames? Okay first of all going back to my post on episode one I wonder if a last name means noble. If so its intersting because Uther did not reconize a noble family because a maiden name was used. Or hes not and last names are a fluke. Also although Gaius later reveals that his parents practiced dark magic he did not bring it up here. Or deny he was freinds with them. Possably because he knew it would not convince Edwin? And not everyone who practiced magic back then (A lot of people) could have used dark magic. This is the first time we realize that Gaius was essentully a colaborater. Its not a good look for him. Not only did he choose to let his freinds die to stick by Uther. HE IS STILL trying to protect Uther. But he is willing to give up Uther to protect Merlin. And is later revealed to have saved Alice. So some part of me wonders how close of freinds they could have been? One thing I wonder is if Gaius actually agreed with Uther on a level. Perhaps there were a lot of people abusing magic. (As hinted at in episode one) So he actually thinks magic is often bad and often corrupts. (To be clear I'm not excusing his behavior.) This is why he is so hesitant to let Morgana know about her magic. And he is so strict with Merlin and his. "Its not good or bad its how you use it." But a lot of people give into power and use it for bad? Is this his view?

I know a lot of people equate magic with being born diferant. I do too. Its part of why I relate to Merlin so much. But it seems like for some people in the merlin world it is less who they are and a means of Power for good or ill. (For others they are totally born with it) It does give people power others do not have (Just like being royalty does for example) I am a firm beliver of the idea that power reveals. And we see this a lot in Merlin, both in the choices Uther VRS Arthur make. and in the choices diferant sorcerers make. Back on topic I'm trying to understand why Gaius makes the choices he does. And I think the most likley thing is the man on some level ACTUALLY is afraid of magic and its capacity to currupt which he has seen a lot of and thus supports Uther one some level, perhaps this is even subconcious.

Again this is Tumblr so I need to make clear I DO NOT THINK HE IS IN THE RIGHT HERE. Gaius if this is true is missing HUGE Aspects he should take into consiteration. And the purge? the things Uther did? Just no!

This is intersting because there were not many developments in real medieval time. Another sigh there medical knowlage is very diferant in the Merlin World AND I'm cutting off here. Party because I accidenly posted partly because there is SO MUCH LORE! I will come with part 2 soon!

#merlin lore #merlin loregasm rewatch #merlin rewatch #bbc merlin #merlin lroe rewatch #gaius critical #I guess

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arguablysomaya · 4 months

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please, elaborate on merlin bbc propaganda and stuff

okay basically:

bbc merlin is a show taking place during a genocide

camelot for 20 years has been genociding and ethnically cleansing everyone who can use magic, including magical creatures. They were all either exiled, fled, live in refugee camps or in hiding, and a great many were executed and slaughtered. Generally speaking, life is inhospitable in camelot for magic users.

And the show makes no attempt to hide this fact, either. We see multiple times over the death and destruction this genocide has wraught, and how radicalized most of the remaining magic population is because of it. For the past few decades, camelot has essentially been doing 2 things: persecuting magic users, and defending itself from vengeful/liberationist magic users

the king (uther) believes that magic users are (stop me if you've heard this one) corruptive, shifty, and evil. he's always paranoid that a magic user will take their revenge on him. and in a way, he's right: there are in fact a lot of magic users eager to kill him, but given the whole Great Purge and literally drowning children thing, you'd thing the show would be a bit more sympathetic to their plight. Nope.

in come merlin and gaius, our two main magic users. merlin is the protagonist, and gaius his benevolent mentor, so the audience is primed to be on their side. only one problem: from bascially the beginning of the series, these two are nothing more than agents for the very state carrying out the genocide. they devote their time to wholeheartedly defending camelot, especially from magic users, something they are rightfully called traitors for. they actively intervene to prolong the lives (and therefore regimes) of both arthur and uther, despite neither king showing any real interest in freeing their people. gauis represents the "diversity" of a genocidaire state; as someone uther only keeps around so long as he shuns any involvement with magic except what helps uther carry put his genocide, gaius hides and rejects every marginalized part of himself that threatens his access to power. even as a member of the oppressed class, he aids and abets the oppressors every step of the way. merlin, as an extremely powerful agic user in hiding, follows suit. the thing is, like so many other minority collaborators, this doesn't actually buy them safety, since they are Other, they still have to walk around on eggshells knowing one wrong move could get their heads chopped off. but this action of defending a regime that would kill you without a second's hesitation is presented as noble and heroic in the show, when in reality it's stupid at best and evil at worst. merlin and gaius might save a token kid from being brutally murdered, but they will never let anyone take action, let alone take action themselves, to proactively stop the brutality.

merlin is literally the most powerful sorcerer alive. if he wanted to, he could create a more fair, more just, better world in a blink. instead, he spends his time pretending to be a hapless servent, messing around with his war criminal friends, and killing any freedom fighter who dares to even look at the prince or king. why? well, he believes in the institutions (and a prophecy that never comes true... lol). ultimately, merlin and gauis hold the same prejudices and stereotypes about magic users that uther does: that they're untrustworthy, dangerous, and that it would be better for everyone if all but themselves (the good ones) just died or left.

and all the people they're defending the empire against... are other oppressed magic users. the VAST majority of antagonists are either magicians or magic sympathizers. even in the context of a genocide, the show takes the firm stance that the architects of genocide (the literal kings who order it to happen) are just flawed human beings who still don't deserve to be killed, while when the people they seek to wipe out fight back, our protagonists will happily mow them down. the show has no problem with killing people,and even killing innocents is only worthy of a fingerwag. it's fighting for liberation that the show makes the real problem. even when uther finally dies the show plays it like something sad, as if anyone is supposed to feel anything but joy that this old tyrant genocidaire finally kicked the bucket after having been saved a million times over from getting his comeuppance. Every magic user that has genuinely good reasons to want to tear down the kingdom are all painted with the "crazy evil person" brush.

another thing is that this show likes to get ~quirky~ with their agents of the state. along with arthur and merlin come a colorful cast of characters like the knights that you can laugh and cry with. the only problem is that despite how lovable these people are, they're still actively carrying out and enforcing a genocide. it's a bit like those tiktoks of IDF soldiers dancing or proposing. i can't feel for these people because despite seeming like relatable people, they're still engaging in something horrific. you can't escape the fact that these people can only exist in the relatively easy capacity that they do because the empire they work for is brutally repressing and eliminating entire cultures.

but the thing is, this strategy actually works. the fandom is often so taken in by fun character interactions and shipping moments that you can often witness people literally look past, or even praise their acts of genocide. these characters are so charming with each other that you can look past how awfully they treat oppressed people. yay! the prevalence of merthur brings up too many idf pinkwashing parallels it's actually insufferable. i had hoped we left oppressor/oppressed person ships behind in the 2010s but guess it's still around

by the time he takes over as king, the "great, kind" arthur is essentially an IDF soldier who only realized that Killing Is Bad Actually when he's got crosshairs on a random kid. now Reformed (TM), he takes the brave stance that he should only kill the angry bad magic users who try to exact their revenge for the whole genocide thing on him, and the peaceful (more often than not, harmless) magic users should accept the merciful counterplan of ethnically cleansing themselves from the region, or continuing to live in refugee camps, but this time with less threat of massacre. in this show, the only acceptable answer to being genocided is to either lay down and die, hide forever, or displace yourself hoping the empire doesn't come and kill you anyway. fighting back, getting revenge, defending oneself, trying to change things: these are all reserved only for the genocidal state.

in other words, bbc merlin is the exact type of genocide obfuscation that most modern genocides engage in. the suffering of oppressed peoples, even innocents, is a footnote. when they suffer, sometimes it's presented as sad, and other times it's presented as deserved. meanwhile, the suffering of the oppressors, no matter how justifyable, is always landmark and deserves our full attention and sympathies, because the thing about the oppressors is that it's always their story.

(the last thing is a common fantasy problem, which is that when you create stories where different classes have actual, material, biological distinctions, it can end up justifying the oppression. in the real world, there is a very limited range of innate human abilities, and people from across the world are largely evenly matched. but in merlin, a sorcerer actually does pose an increased threat to those around them. in terms of allegory... kinda not the best thing to so without any real refutation to the idea that magic corrupts)

so yeah. that's why i don't fuck with this show even though it's enjoyable to watch.

#shut up somaya #bbc merlin #adventures of merlin #bbc arthur #bbc gaius #anti arthur #anti merlin #anti merthur #merlin crit #merlin critical #arthur crit #merlin emrys #arthur pendragon #uther pendragon

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just-late-roman-republic-things · 3 months

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I ran Plutarch's version of Gaius Gracchus through one of those old, old "Mary Sue" tests, from back when the term meant "a character the author is over-attached to, to the point of diminishing every other character's portrayal," and wasn't just a sexist pejorative for any competent female character. He got the maximum possible Sue-level when I was only halfway through the test.

I think I know who Plutarch's blorbo is.

#instead of the term 'mary sue' i think it's more helpful to talk in terms of authorial attachment. which is a normal part of writing #but if you can recognize it and distinguish your own emotions from how the audience will likely perceive the story #you'll be able to portray much better characterization and tension. and it will be easier to accept critical feedback #or you could just be plutarch and write your little guy to be perfect lol #plutarch #jlrrt speaks #gaius gracchus

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like-sands-of-time · 9 months

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Do you think the writers realized that the way Gaius was flipping back and forth between "Merlin you're overreacting/seeing things that aren't there/trying to change the future" and "Merlin the situation is dire/this is definitely what's happening/you alone must do this ~dangerous~ thing"

Combined with the way he is a known sorcerer, not only to the court but to the king, kept like the other magical artifacts for times of injury to the royal family that his magic might be useful

Combined with the way this man picks and chooses when to help magic users escape Camelot unharmed or when to stand by and see them captured/killed

Combined with the way he gaslights the shit out of morgana even after he knows Merlin and Morgana know of her powers

That it All equates to a massively manipulative person????? He's doing everything he can to survive, damn the very real shit going on around him. Oh what's the best course of action for another child of magic born to the same lady Vivienne who's first child you snuck out of camelot? Keep her in the dark, keep her fearful and unaware of her dreams and her powers, but yeah she's Evil now because she chooses to see the good in magic and the evil in the king for killing it (which is just another plot issue but whatever nows not the time).

We can only imagine what Camelot looked like in the days of the dragons and all other magic kind, probably a lot healthier, more vibrant, more prosperous. Nevermind that Gaius got to spend his whole youth with that prosperity, Morgana (and Merlin) surely can't miss something she never had!!!!!!!!!!!

And Merlin! Sure he takes Hunith and Balinor's boy in, because he needs an apprentice, because the circumstances line up, because destiny, whatever the reason. And he cares about Merlin's life enough to sacrifice himself multiple times (only because Merlin is Emrys the god among men, immortal, sworn to serve Arthur the once and future king for all of time) But he does not really help Merlin in the following ten years. The boy who came to Camelot, the opinions he held, the care he had for others, that boy is lost or warped more like through years of Gaius' (and Kilgharrah before they just like changed his personality) careful commentary undermining Merlins beliefs and changing his actions. Then when said actions obviously work out poorly(think, self fulfilling prophecy episodes, episodes where Merlin is convinced to outright lie to Arthur's face, etc) then it's Merlins fault and Gaius is there to comfort him and then they share a funny little moment and everything's fine !!!

Like, did the writers mean to write it like this because ho-ly shit! That's how it reads every single episode. Merlin the young warlock would not have done these things. The boy he was in season one? When confronted with admitting his magic(the thing he was so self conscious of, but so proud of at the same time) or lying to Arthur to his face he would have spoken the truth. Gaius (and Kilgharrah) turned him into a man deceitful manipulative tool, bent on controlling Arthur without ever telling him the truth and letting him make his own mind.

Because that Arthur, the Arthur of season one, would have taken in the knowledge of both Merlin his friend, and morgana his sister, and stood up for them, helped keep them safe, accepted them and their magic. That Arthur clearly loved morgana and Merlin above all else, even though he struggled with saying it, he proved it in his actions. Merlin (through his mentors) TURNs Arthur from magic, when he was willing to save Mordred, willing to sympathize with magic users, to see their worth, to spare them if they did not commit crimes, willing to accept the help of a foreign mage in the caves, and willing to question his father To!! His !! Face!! About the knights code.

You're telling me Merlin would forget about these things, would lie to Arthur that Morgause lied, when he could have just said, hey she showed you your mum, but killing your dad isn't the answer. How FUCKING hard would that have been? This show made Merlin a bad guy, a man against his own kind. that's the real tragedy. Merlin, emrys, would never do these things in season one. He had to be convinced by his mum not to tell Arthur after will died. He was willing to share. The show themselves didn't want it, because it provided comedy(how does Arthur not see!!1!) And angst (how does Arthur not see !?!)

#merlin emrys #gaius #arthur pendragon #morgana pendragon #Kilgharrah #bbc merlin critical #bbc merlin #dude apologies for such a long fkin post i just went rant mode huh

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robotslenderman · 11 months

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Someone once told me that people in their 30s look young today because in reality, it's not that they look young, it's just that people think 30 is decrepit and don't expect them to look their actual age, and nobody proves that theory correct more than Jod fanartists.

#I love you guys but why does he always look like he's twice his actual age #he would've been mid thirties AT MOST #the locked tomb #John Gaius #fandom critical

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tiodolma · 1 year

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Gaius and Merlin were the most powerful class traitors of magic who were complicit in the actions of their genocidal bigot bosses just because they believe in one big dumb prophecy.

Gaius taught Merlin to distrust other magic users, to not help them, to hide himself and just devote himself to the crown.

Tbf to merlin he was just 16-18 when all these just started. He was too young. He wasn’t ready. He was sent to the most dangerous place for people like him. He was impressionable. His heart was too good. He was too moldable.

He took “I will not fall into anger and rage like Morgana” too far to the point where he couldn’t even find his voice against Arthur who was still relentlessly chasing down and killing his people anymore. He put all his eggs into the biggest bigot in their universe because the magic world told him that the guy was the hottest sht. Merlin was so broken down, so brainwashed, so indoctrinated that he still continued to forgive even after years of getting dismissed, insulted, derided and abused and only shown rare bouts of kindness by his supposed best friend in the universe.

Arthur didn’t deserve any of that devotion. As king he still persecuted and treated magic folk like shit. He blamed them for their own oppression, never accepted his father’s actions as wrong, showed no remorse in arresting and killing their women and children (shut up he only made promises to a frkn ghost), refused to learn more about their ways despite having the biggest knowledge base in albion, continued to imprisoned them for existing, calling them the most disgusting slurs, using their magic techniques recklessly for himself and still called magic “evil” when they don’t work.....and then played victim when he got called out by the oppressed magic folk.

It’s such a shame that Merlin hoped and believed in his potential after everything. Merlin could never truly relate to magic folk after all. The only people left alive who truly loved him made sure of that. His mother raised him to fear and hide himself. His mentor taught him how to be the judge and be the arbiter of life and death not only over the kingdom but also the magic folk. He was overworked and pressured to the point that he had no free time for himself. He was supposed to be the strongest warlock but he only had enough time to receive education from the dude who hasnt practiced sorcery for 20 years when he should have beenseeking out other magic users and learning from them. His life was constantly dictated by the big magic institutions who never give him the tools to actually start their liberation, only empty promises.

Merlin’s sense of self died gradually throughout the span of the whole series every time he lost a loved one and every time Gaius/Kilgharrah/Hunith asked him to forget himself and serve the crown. The kid who wanted to be seen and recognized for his talent, kindness and potential turned into a biggest self-sacrificing royalist who truly believed that his life was valued lesser than a king.

It’s a monarchist story. It’s a divine right of kings story. It’s a fascist story. It’s an anti-radicalism story, it’s a defender-of-the-status-quo story.

It is NOT a story of acceptance, of positive change, of equality, of democracy.

I thought we learned from Diogenes for fuck’s sake.

#adventures of merlin #bbc merlin #bbc arthur #bbc gaius #anti arthur #bbc hunith #anti merthur #merlin crit #merlin critical #arthur crit #doomed hero merlin #there i said it #hot takes #thots #aom is democracy bait

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copperhawkthoughts · 1 year

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So Ludinus is, what, 1100 years old? He saw the Calamity, the Divergence?

What is the psychology of functionally living forever? What is the psychology of watching the apocalypse and then living forever? Everything you love dies and then you spend a thousand years steeping in the churn of mayfly people as society pulls itself up from the muck and achieves, what, a bare fraction of what you used to have, and they call themselves learned, advanced, supreme?

A thousand years later and your life’s work is revenge for what was taken from you? A thousand years of hatred and loss and a rotating cast of humans who spend the equivalent of a few years with you before they crumble to dust as well?

This is a person who, by this point, is as alien as anything from beyond the stars, who might say “this is for everyone,” but has long since forgotten anything about what being part of an ‘everyone’ means. At this point, he’s almost got more in common with the gods he so reviles than with the people around him; he might as well be Predathos himself.

#Ludinus is terrifying #critical role #cr spoilers #cr meta #cr c3e45 #exu: calamity levels of existential horror at this point #it’s also very John Gaius of him tbh #ntn spoilers #just in case

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r0kuta · 1 year

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in a gaimari mood 💖

#gaimari #gaius #maribelle #fe #fe:a #fea #fire emblem awakening #fe13 #my art #doodles #not coloring this. not doing it #anyways gaimari is one of the best het pairings in the game and i am not taking criticism on that opinion

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colorofmymindposts · 1 year

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I could write an essay on how poorly Morgana’s villain arc was handled in BBC Merlin. But the fact that most of her transition to evildoing was off-screen from series 2 to series 3 and that we don’t even see her learn on-screen that she is Morgause’s sister — but do see Uther’s reaction to learning from Gaius that they are half-sisters in series 2 — is truly just an indictment on how much the writers couldn’t give a shit about the female characters

#morgana #morgause #bbc merlin #merlin bbc #merlin meta #uther pendragon #gaius #criticism #my meta #salt tag

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sneakyboymerlin · 2 months

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Actual monarchists in the Gwaine tag. Scary

#tw classism #posts written by Leon #Gaius would write this about Uther lmao #Uther would write this about himself #like can we be fr for a second.#this is what i mean when i say that ppl think Arthur is entitled to Gwaine’s loyalty just cause he’s king #Gwaine is loyal to a servant above a king. it’s a deliberate theme and message on classism #some of you are too engrossed in fandom brainrot positions to even begin to comprehend the themes of any media you interact with #edit: plus his loyalty to Arthur is DESPITE his authority as king. like are you STUPID ON PURPOSE ?!?!?!?#bbc merlin #fandom critical

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meowww-ffxiv · 4 months

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Sometimes I remember the part in I think 3.1 or 3.2 where you went with Nanamo to try and find a way to help newly liberated Ala Mhigo get its feet back from under them and we had a very strange conversation with Hildibrand's dad where he was like You Gotta Put 'Em To Work Your Grace and something about how it couldn't be a wholesale charity thing, Ul'dah had to stand to gain something from the arrangement or the Monetarists would riot.

I know what they were going for. It's a really really pessimistic view of edgy politics, same in trend as some of the :/ bits of Stormblood. Which just really goes back to the main reason I'd rather move on from Stormblood even though I don't think it's bad, lol. It used a lot of its screen time to show the horrors of war and that's fine. But where is the humanity in the face of the horrors of war?

Especially in a story like FFXIV where you can say hope and perseverance and humanity versus those things are prevalent. It was the whole plot of ShB. Strangers or acquaintances you weren't necessarily close to going out of their way in a bleak future to save you, who died long ago. The Crystarium, the shining spire of hope that was once built by an inhumane, terrible empire. Everyone's resolve on the First. The way the Crystarium rallied around the one good thing that had happened -- the glimpse of the night sky -- when pressured with violence and bloodshed to give up hoping by Vauthry.

Endwalker followed the same trend even. And we went back and did SO MUCH for Heavensward's characters and locations. Then Stormblood was just like aight we pushed the Garleans out, now let's discuss how we can profit from it lol.

Like I get where they came from. Nanamo had to have the character growth where she balanced shrewdness of a ruler with the fact that her country was ruled by selfish, ruthless capitalists. She'd tried to revolt against them and failed once. But the whole shit is just upsetting to hear lol.

Oh well. It's their product and SE can do whatever they want with it.

#its out there its established and its critical to the story 🤷#so i will take it. AND its free to play now.#this was supposed to be about how MY homemade blorbo reacted to that convo but apparently i still have bones to chew on for this #not to mention the words they put into brown girl m'naago's mouth about how gaius the OG invader of werlyt #can be best counted on to liberate it. the nerve. the audacity. no people suffering from occupation would say that #if m'naago was written by someone who wasnt raised in an imperialist rooted culture she'd have nailed gaius to a tree and shot him #but once again. SE reserves the right to whatever they wanna do with their product.#im just going to rewrite that bit to my experience which is M'naago Didn't Say That

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