curveball
mordred is talking about his story being written in a written story

Fantastic job! I felt that done of the parts were a but redundant (arthur kept thinking about the same things for the first half of the fic; and during the fighting Merlin got lost, got hurt then healed, then Arthur got lost, hurt and healed, then gwaine got hurt and healed, then Merlin again, etc), but it also could have been because I was reading at 2am. Either way, great job with the plot and character development!

Okay so all of Elyan’s arguments for why “Emrys” can’t be trusted could be turned right back around and used for Agravaine, who all of them blindly believed just because he was a “noble”. My annoyance is that they make all of these statements about magic-users being untrustworthy, but NEVER realise that those same arguments can be applied to any regular old average Joe, but especially to people in power (*cough* Uther *cough*). It’s not a complaint about your writing specifically, but all the reveal fics I’ve read (and that’s quite a lot) neglect to have anyone tell Arthur, the knights, Gwen - literally everyone - that their logic is faulty and why. They always try to change people’s minds without telling them why the heck they're wrong in first place other than “we’re not all bad” and “we want peace” and “magic is only as bad as the user”. Okay. Be that as it may, if they think all magic users are inherently bad because magic is the root of all evil, why does no one EVER explain how Uther let power corrupt him? He’s LITERALLY the epitome of it in a non-magical person and no one would be able to deny that. I mean I actually could go on forever about this glaring oversight (or lack of sight, as the case may be) of our favourite characters, but I have the rest of the fic to finish first. I’ll see if my indignation rears up again ;)

What always frustrates me in Merlin reveal fics is that everyone leaves Arthur to continue thinking that magic is some evil, corrupting poison. Especially since, despite the fact that they all have Arthur harp on the “how can I trust someone with so much power?” issue, nobody ever has any of the characters point out that ARTHUR himself has tons of power over other people as king. People live and die by his whim, just like he’s assuming they do by magic. No one ever points out how Uther abused it, especially considering Arthur himself realised it, even if it he didn’t/wouldn’t admit it, and THAT’S why he smuggled Mordred out of the castle as a child. Nobody corrects him when he says that magic warped Morgana. Why does no one ever point out that she discovered she had magic while living in the household of the man who prided himself on watching BURN for having it, and that she was likely (we know definitely) terrified out of her mind for her own survival? Gaius never explains to him that Morgana’s dreams were magical and he’d been giving her “sleeping” potions to try to suppress it to save her from Uther. No one ever points out that it is very justified fear, and anger, and bitterness, and revenge, and a state of being completely tired of being persecuted for nothing other than Uther’s misdirected anger and guilt, that drive sorcerers to attack Camelot. No one ever sets Arthur straight and knocks Uther down from the pedestal Arthur has him on so that he’ll see the true horrors of reality.

It frustrates me that people leave Arthur to continue believing the COMPLETELY FALSE notion that magic corrupts. Power isn’t even necessarily what corrupts; it’s the people themselves who are good or bad. Agravaine didn’t have magic, and he sure as heck was a piece of work. And he keeps harping on him needing to know everything “for Camelot’s safety” when he really just doesn’t like not knowing everybody’s business. “Merlin lied for years.” Well he never believed Merlin when he told him the truths that Arthur didn’t want to hear. So, if he wanted to stay alive to be able to protect the people too stupid to realise that they actually have no means of fighting magic, then he was entitled to KEEP HIS OWN BLASTED SECRET. It’s really not Arthur’s business, since he’s not posing a problem to national security. He’s actually the most effective national security Camelot’s got, but Arthur wouldn’t be able to stomach that. Although Merlin’s secret affects Camelot, it is ultimately his own business and he should not be required to tell Arthur something that could get him killed - king or not.

All that is not to say I get your fic. I actually enjoy it, even if Arthur annoys me (but that’s ny own personal gripe and not actually your writing). I’m looking forward to seeing how everything resolves. This is just a pet peeve the fic brought to the fore and I wanted to get out. Please feel free to ignore it :D or we can have a convo on it. I’m okay either way!

Signed,
A Fan

Great reveal story. Although I don't think that Arthur and Merlin would be in 'no talk' that long

This was a really, really good story. It was very enjoyable to read and the way Arthur gradually deals with Merlin's revelation felt very realistic. I think you wrote the characters perfectly, none of them are OOC to me.

The plot was really intriguing too.
Personally, I'm glad you wrote chapter 30 differently because the alternate chapter was really sad. Also, thanks for writing an extended ending to include Merlin's talk with the others. It made it more satisfying. I liked how you handled things in this story too.

Thanks for writing it! :D

Overall, I truly love the plot and interactions between the characters in your story. However, there is perhaps a bit too much introspection on the character's thoughts. I'm pretty sure an entire chapter or two have been nothing but Arthur or another character just reflecting and thinking without the story moving forward. I believe a lot of that stream of consciousness can be tightened to make this story better. But thank you for a wonderful story! The battles were epic and the twists with Mordred were a delight to read.

This (and the prequel) are probably the most realistic realizations of a Merlin reveal-fic I've ever seen. I think it's true that Arthur would have a very hard time with it, that maybe things would never be quite the same again. And I like that you've considered the reactions of Camelot's people, who really might not react well to a change in the magic laws, after so long.

Thank you SO much for writing this chapter! It's probably one of my favorites in the whole story :) ! Speaking of the story, it was very thought out. I can tell that you put a lot of time an effort into creating this. Thanks for making it so addictive to read!

YES HE SHOULD HAVE TOLD ARE U DOING THIS TO MEEEE? WHY?

FINALLY! thank God.
I don't know why but I'm really,really,reallyyyy angry.
Now , don't get me wrong.I love Arthur but people just sometimes deserve to be kicked.
If I was Merlin I would write a F*ck you letter to Arthur,Say goodbye to Gwen,Hug Gwaine and go explore the skies with my fire breathing giant friend or some thing.
(Good think I'm not him.)
Or possibly just curl my self into a ball and cry my eyes out before committing suicide.
(And I really would like Gaius to slap the hell out of the prat )
great story

I like this story, and I would appreciate it if you did a Merlin doc where Merlin saved Arthur after mordred stabbed him in the end of season 5. Please do, because I like your writing style

Well, damn... This story was certainly...a canon compliant AU. I loved that, despite the fact I wanna cry now. Not sure if it's for Mordred or Merlin, and I think I've cried enough for Morgana by now...

I've been meaning to compliment George's role since Gwen sent him to the town to listen in, but I just. Couldn't. Stop. Reading. Anyway~ Really loved it. I think you wrote this entire fanfic...in exactly the same way I wanted a fanfiction to be written how have I only JUST found this?

you've made my day :) (more like my weekend, actually haha) I love the way you managed to describe Merlin as a not so perfect hero and the vilains as "victims of Fate". Your stories are entertaining (I'm reviewing for the first part as well since I'm too lazy to thank you twice, so... here I am ) and in my opinion they don't betray nor the characters nor the universe of Merlin.

(please, don't mind my mistakes, I'm not fluent yet )

YES MERLIN, try to get Arthur to trust you by discussing the time you recently were enchanted to try to kill him.

Of course.

I get the reasoning behind it, he wants to prove how strong his loyalty is, but he's so hilariously thick sometimes it's ridiculous.