Hi

Well my idea was Merlin being Penelope in the future as in Merlin with Arthur’s sigil was next in line for the throne after Gwen died since she and Arthur didn’t have any heirs or you can remove gwenthur as a whole it doesn’t really matter lol

So Merlin takes over Camelot after everything and rules as an immortal king/queen bc I love my genderfluid Merlin. I suppose in the beginning he could fake a lineage by announcing he has a child who would be an heir and then faking his death and becoming said heir so no one got suspicious in the beginning.

He rules Camelot for centuries and keeps Arthur’s kingdom safe and preserved for his return because he’s. coming. back. Anyway after so long, humanity eventually destroys itself with nuclear warfare and Camelot is the only thing left standing from Merlin’s magical wards. As humanity rebuilds, Camelot is the hub of civilization for a while since the rest of the land can’t even bear crops from all the nuclear waste. People turn back to magic, go back to their roots.

Merlin can fully become the immortal ruler now since magic is back, kinda. He figures Arthur must be arriving soon because hello? People can’t even grow food? The land is destroyed, people are starving, we can’t even wage war because Camelot is the only stable form of government around. You’re lucky to find a village out there somewhere since people tend to stay in their caves nowadays.

So Merlin offers a challenge for Arthur. He places Excalibur back in the stone and says whoever can pull it from the stone will claim the throne from Merlin. He will no longer be the immortal ruler and humanity can reclaim their place of power that people seem to think he’s hogging.

Arthur and co (knights, morgana, gwen) are brought back with all their memories in a dried up spot that was once the lake but no longer exists. They hear whispers of Camelot so they head back to their kingdom for answers all the while bonding and healing old wounds (morgwencelot my beloved return from war 🙏)

They arrive and see Merlin still alive, ruling Camelot, and like hella depressed and Arthur hears the challenge and is like “well I pulled the sword from the stone before (it’s weird that its back in there but okay) so I can do it again” but since Merlin helped him pull the sword from the stone originally, it doesn’t work. Talk about a blow to the ego. I mean. I guess in some of my ideas for this fic, he doesn’t pull the sword from the stone like this. Idk. This was just an idea lol.

Anyways this is like where it branches into like five million different directions. Also since Merlin hasn’t see Arthur in millennia, he’s forgotten what he looks like so when he sees Arthur and the knights, he thinks they look familiar but he’s been alive for thousands of years and has seen millions of faces so everyone blends together after a while so he doesn’t recognize them.

Now I could continue to listen to the Ithaca saga and Hold Them Down comes on like the men in the room have finally had enough and are like “lets just attack him and hold him captive and see how many times we can kill an immortal before they stay dead lol” and Arthur (so protective of Merlin it’s insane) just pulls the sword free from sheer force of will and either kills them or just chases them out of the castle. Merlin hears the commotion and thinks nothing of it til he finds bodies and rushes into the room to find the sword in the stone no longer in the stone and is like ??? wtf???? Only I could allow that to happen???? Unless…no. I shan’t dare believe…

Morgana helps Arthur pull the sword from the stone and Merlin is like ??? Wtf??? That’s my challenge?? Who tf do you think you are?? Ugh I love mergana frenemies sm they’re so silly

i was on mobile so i only saw the first tag and my brain started RUNNING with it lmao

my own personal hcs kinda contradict with a few details so i switched it up a bit hope you don't mind (edit: i didn't change it change it but i did tweak it to insert my hc lol)

i'm using the third point/idea because it's my favorite as it involves arthur pining and trying desperately to prove to merlin that he is who he says he is and merlin trying desperately not to get his hopes up as he slowly falls in love with arthur again

anyways, arthur calls merlin a dollophead out of habit and merlin just freezes, his mind screeching to a halt at the familiar word that he's been saying to himself for thousands of years that he can't remember where it's from. he looks over at arthur and is like "dollop...head? what...is that?" and arthur smiles because to him this interaction from a few years ago is backwards so he starts quoting merlin and is like 'it's idiomatic." and merlin tilts his head all confused like even as the back of his mind tingles, his subconscious recognizing this but he has to search through thousands of years of memories to find what this means and he can't quite do it. arthur continues like "it means you need to be more in touch with the people."

and merlin is just trying so hard to not believe but at the same time his heart is slowly growing lighter as his mind fights with itself to find the damn memory that is escaping him. maybe he eventually finds the memory, maybe he doesn't, but he heads out to the sword in the stone and announcing that he will be overseeing todays attempts and he watches as man after man after woman after woman try their hand at pulling the sword free but none succeed obviously. merlin catches arthur's eye and despite his wounded pride from failing before, he decides to step up to the sword and try again. he stares up at merlin as he grabs the sword and watches as merlin's eyes flood gold.

the sword dislodges and arthur pulls it out without looking away from merlin and merlin steps down, holding his breath as he dares to hope for the first time in centuries and (listening to would you fall in love with me again and this is more in tune with the challenge penelope issues odysseus to move their wedding bed) tells arthur to battle merlin while wielding excalibur. if arthur can defeat merlin, than he takes the throne. arthur, like ody, is just like...flabbergasted. he's like "you told me this sword was forged in the breath of a dragon, that it can kill anything magic or non. if i were to wound you in battle, i would kill you. i won't. i won't do it." and merlin just...Knows at that point and practically falls to his knees before arthur murmuring "it's you, it's you, it's really you..."

I like thinking about the background details 👉👈

I feel like Arthur and the other's return to Camelot would take a little while longer to return because of the destruction and lack of available food. Even if they aren't very far from Camelot, the world would be modernized to a degree, right? (Camelot staying alive and magical would change some things)

Radiation would make traveling through certain areas VERY UNSAFE and there would be a lack of available drinking water (in the wilderness anyway, I feel like Merlin would take care of that.)

Arthur's main focus would be to get back home yeah but he cares a lot about his people. His heart would HURT seeing the aftermath of nuclear war, not even understanding the cause. It could pave the way for some self doubt. What could he really do as ruler? Is he really prepared or able to care for his kingdom when he's not even from this time period? And when he doesn't pull the sword that first time hoo boy-

(Also Morgana is the only one with magic in their group and Arthur died with still evil Morgana and they're probably depending on her to get home safely and things are very awkward but Morgana is trying at least)

If Merlin is providing housing for the people trying to pull the sword (good news for Arthur and co because they are homeless and broke.) He would have very minimal contact with Merlin because Merlin probably hates seeing the sword cuz he can't remember the wielder's face and he's done so much for this person and he only has vague memories and feelings and why is he still ruling this godforsaken kingdom again? (His depression kicking in. Yes he loves Arthur but resentment would build up after that long right???)

Could be a slow burn version two 👀👀?

He was literally SAVED by magic and he acknowledged that.

(it may not make a ton of sense buutttt)

For favorite long (80k+) fic, I would have to choose Drink my Pain, Swallow Your Pride by Lex18. I’ve read another fic I love by this author and if you’re looking for just the most fan fiction fan fiction that hits the spot, READ. It’s got sexual tension, it’s got vampires, it’s got werewolves, it’s got familial secrets, it’s everything you want to indulge in and more. I, for one, love the vampire Arthur agenda and please give me more 🙏🏻

For favorite mid length (30k-80k) fic, I would have to stretch the boundaries a bit and choose the 85k A Summer in Delphi by rotrude. I went on a spree of reading this authors work and their variety is amazing. This was full of self acceptance, beautiful love blossoming, some tears, and a whole mountain of emotion with the characters. Definitely recommend!

For favorite short fic (<30k) I would have to pick this short smutty fic called Beware the River by I_ran_out_of_books. if you’re into some magical being (?) smut I definitely recommend, it’s a little wild but the concept is great (and, in my humble opinion, underused). A succubus/siren creature morphing into what Arthur desires the most, aka merlin, and then merlin seeing this go down? sign me up

ooooo yes I do! there’s actually so many I love that it’s hard to verbalize, I go back to canon era perpetually in between modern. It’s like I need both or else I wither away. Now canon era and canon in line with the series fics are a bit different, but I’ll focus more on ones that feel closer to canon series!

For really long ones, To Bear our Teeth and our Hearts by queerofthedagger and so close and I’m halfway to it by ariadne_odair have a very close place in my heart. these are like my go to rereads when I’m itching for canon era that will always hit where I need it to. just excellent works, make me giggle and fulfill the canon merthur needs in me.

Glow Gold by BelleCow was a really excellent post finale (arthur survives) canon era fic- Arthur’s characterization I really really loved. Like he is so AUUUGGH you know what I mean?

Requiem of a Forgotten Prince by kairennart and queerofthedagger also was a really great canon era fic. Has a unique premise but the spell works really well within it, just love love love it truly.

And… when discussing canon era but significant plot/character divergence, I’ll recommend The Ballad of the Moon by Ro_88. This is one of the first Merlin fics that I ever read, and it’s intense but the plot and the resolution was really crazy and enjoyable! the new lore they made while still having the canon era feel is really impressive.

Like, just some rando comes by and drops the wildest lore that not even the audience knows to the knights super casually and leaves.

I.e.

Will (if he had lived): I’m glad Merlin found a place here. I thought for sure he’d end up banished again (: Arthur: He got banished from Ealdor? Will: What? No. Camelot wasn't Hunith’s first choice. Merlin just kept pissing people off in other kingdoms so she had to send him to Gaius because nobody else had a chance of controlling him. Arthur: Are you-? Actually, no. This tracks.

Or

Random Girl: Hi, I'm looking for my brother? He lives in the palace, I think. Elyan: And who might your brother be? Random Girl: Oh, sorry. I'm Ganieda! Merlin's sister. Gwaine: No fucking way

I'm just saying, there is no way Merlin stayed out of trouble his entire childhood. Consider: