The monster was white and skeletal, with bones protruding from its spine and joints. It crawled like an insect across the ceiling, two talons sharp and glinting from each foot. As though looking for them, it huffed and sniffed, and Merlin prayed that it was blind and would leave if they stood still without a breath. It flexed and shifted, its skin wrinkled with each movement, shining with dew. Merlin’s lungs screamed at him for air, and when he could hold it in no longer, he sucked in a breath. The creature’s head snapped towards him, beady black eyes blinking hungrily at him. It snapped its jaws with rows upon rows of teeth glinting in the moonlight, and dropped to the floor and lunged.
“MERLIN!” Arthur yelled, grabbing Merlin’s sleeve and yanking him away from it.
Merlin scrambled backward and dodged as the creature slammed past him and into the ground. The walls shook from the commotion and an idea popped into the warlock’s head. He saw Arthur slowly approach the beast from behind as it shook its head frustratedly. Merlin had to keep Arthur safe. Running forward and pushing Arthur out of the way, he screamed, “ARTHUR, GET BACK! THE CAVE IS COLLAPSING!”
When the monster lunged again, guided by his shout, Merlin rolled and shot out a hushed spell towards the cave ceiling. It shook and fell, building a blockade between them and the king. He heard Arthur yell for him, but all that registered in Merlin’s thoughts was that the king was unharmed. Now Merlin faced the beast alone.
It was a Lymocton. ‘The starving man’. He’d seen it in his book before. He couldn’t remember much, only that they had an aversion to light and heat. So he spun around, fists blazing hot with fire, and called to it, “Alright, you’ve got me now. Give it your best shot!”
CHAPTER ONE : THE BAD FEELING & THE TREASURE CHEST (Pt. 2)
“Didn’t peg you for an artistic soul, sire! Now you’re telling me you can draw? Hopefully better than whatever Morgana doodled on the walls.”
Arthur shot Merlin an unamused eyeroll but pushed a bound notebook to him all the same. Merlin pursed his lips and carefully opened it. The bindings were brittle, and some pages slid out, Merlin fumbling to catch them. When he did, he whistled quietly and looked up at Arthur and back at the page in rapid succession. Arthur could draw… incredibly well. He flipped through the pages and gazed at them with wonder. Some of the drawings he instantly recognized. A detailed sketch of a horse’s head. A simple outline of a hut on a hill. But as Merlin got further into the book, the drawings became grander and grander.
One depicted Morgana, with her features sharp even as a child, gazing out of her window to the courtyard. Another of Gwen’s face, her eye’s closed and smiling gently. An old man with a long beard with a cloak pulled over his head. A woman kissing a child’s forehead. He flipped through the pages enthralled by their contents. When he got to the end, he found a paper ripped out and folded in half. He looked up at Arthur questioningly, who had averted his eyes to avoid Merlin’s reaction to his work. Getting no response, he pulled the page out and opened it.
This drawing was different than the others. With the rest of his art, Arthur had painstakingly created tiny details and gentle shading. This one… the face of a young boy, was haphazard and roughly made from jagged lines and harsh shadows. Merlin ran his fingers over it and then raised it to the king.
this is a self-appreciation post. just wanna list some fun details that ppl seem hardly to notice or i personally like in my merlin fanart. (*fyi, a little bit of nsfw at the end of the post.)
The Poster on the Window
This is actually an alternate version of another one I drew last year. (Not that I was trying to echo the previous one, it was just me being the queen of recycling)
The Flowers on Arwen’s Wedding Reception
This is based on the bouquet Arthur sends Gwen in one episode. (Yeah, I love self-torture. Was drawing this while pining for my arrow-straight bff.)
Merlin(birds)
The birds Gwen feeds are supposed to be merlins but I was too lazy to search for a ref and pants at drawing animals, so…
The Sculpture
The sculpture Merlin kisses isn’t exactly like the real one at Tintagel. I changed it a bit to make it looks more like Arthur. (Someone dm’d me that one of the cast visited the spot soon after I had drawn this. Destiny I guess? lol)
Igraine’s Sigil (Mostly just a circle, didn’t have patience to render it)
I had drawn a sigil for Merlin (and a ring for Gwen) in the draft (the one in the lower right corner) but dropped it later ‘cause I really didn’t want it to be rivalrous between them in this one particularly.
Old Merlin’s Converse
Pretty much one of my fav headcanons rn.
Merlin’s Hair
I’m SO obsessed with the little curls at his temples and behind his ears!!!!!!!! Also I really like to have others hold his nape.
Merlin’s Hands
The wedding reception one could also be put in the hair genre. Love little Merlin’s tiny fist so much and also how tender Arthur’s hands are in that one.
Merlin’s Neckerchief Variations
Arsenal Jersey
(Reincarnated) Little Merlin is in an Arsenal Jersey which I assume is Arthur’s home team. Had also drawn adult Merlin in Arthur’s Jersey before this.
(TBC? i was low-key hoping someone would mention merlin wanking in his bf’s jersey while sniffing it)
(congrats on merthur’s rise on tumblr’s ship ranking! and it once again proves that my drawings are so painfully shitty ppl give zero eff about it despite the popularity of the ship whoa)
(congrats on merthur’s rise on tumblr’s ship ranking! and it once again proves that my drawings are so painfully shitty ppl give zero eff about it despite the popularity of the ship whoa)
first post!! I’ll likely be posting a lot of Merlin and oc stuff (yes I know my proportions are off don’t pay attention to that). I have no idea what I’m doing so… enjoy?
