Application for Merlin (from 'Merlin.')
Application
PLAYER:
Name: Steph
Personal Journal: knights_say_nih
Contact Info:
UndrwO on aim, underwater.owl@gmail.com
CHARACTER:
Name: Merlin
Source: Merlin (2008 BBC Miniseries)
History: Merlin is a young boy from a town a good distance away from Camelot, who grew up possessing natural magic in a time where being a sorcerer was a death sentence. His father is not in the picture (Canon is still ongoing and unclear on what happened to him, but for the sake of consistency in play I’ll say he died when Merlin was very young, and just hope the writers don’t spring him on me as a guest star somewhere down the road.) His mother adores him, and he adores her in return. For the most part, people in the village where he grew up were not aware of his powers, but rumours were beginning to circulate about how off he was, especially after he nearly brought a tree down on one of his neighbours by mistake. Merlin is many things, but subtle is not one of them.
Shortly after the tree incident, his mother decided that Merlin’s magic had became too hot for his little town to handle, so she sent him to live with an old friend of the family, in the hopes that living in a city will be a positive change for him. Gaius is the court physician to Uther Pendragon, the king of Camelot. He is an old man who has lived his life working for a questionable, oppressive regime, but he agrees to take Merlin in, at great personal risk. They form a close mentor-student (and later parent-child) relationship. Gaius is frequently impatient with Merlin’s messiness and penchant for diving into situations head first, risking his own life, but soon refers to him as ‘the son he never had.’
Gaius knows about Merlin’s magical abilities; the rest of the city does not. King Uther is deeply phobic of magic, and blames it for the death of his wife. Consequentially, anyone found using sorcery in his kingdom is promptly put to death, sometimes without a fair trial. It doesn’t matter what they’re using it for, just that they’re using it. If Gaius were found to be harbouring a warlock, he would probably be killed.
Uther’s hatred of all things mystical extends to magical beasts. We learn in the first episode that Uther has killed all but one of the dragons that used to roam the land, and has the last of them imprisoned in a cave beneath the castle.
This dragon contacts Merlin telepathically upon his arrival to Camelot, and informs him that it is his destiny to watch over Uther’s son, Arthur, until he becomes king. This distresses Merlin a great deal, as Arthur is something of a bully and frequently referred to as ‘the prat.’ However, he quickly ends up becoming his manservant. Predictably enough, the animosity between them turns to friendship as they learn to see the good in each other.
Merlin does not reveal the truth about his ability to use magic to the prince, but manages to save Arthur’s life with it more than once. He appears to be nothing more than a bumbling (if rather loyal) servant, but really plays the role of a kind of guardian angel. The series explores their friendship deepening, Arthur’s journey towards becoming a fair and noble king, and Merlin’s gaining understanding of the cost and responsibility wielding magic entails.
Most recently, he entered into a pact intending to sacrifice his own life to save Arthur’s, which misfired and almost killed both Gaius and Merlin’s own mother. He would arrive in Jigoku on the heels of this incident, freshly aware of the grave consequences irresponsible use of magic can have, and as nervous of discovery as ever.
Personality:
Merlin is a good natured, self-possessed young man who sort of hovers on the cusp of adulthood, but is still prone to making youthful mistakes.
He doesn’t hesitate to magically form patents of nobility so that Lancelot (a commoner) will be accepted into the knight’s training program, ignoring the obvious pitfalls of claiming that he’s the son of a living nobleman just because he believes it’s unjust that peasants can’t become knights. To his credit, when the ruse is discovered he does everything in his power to free Lancelot from prison and get him back into the king’s good favour, but it’s still not the kind of situation that anyone other than the young-adult star of a fantasy tv show would get in to.
Above all, I would describe Merlin as noble, in a very brave, semi-naive sort of way. He never hesitates to offer to sacrifice his life for Arthur’s, once he begins to understand what a great king his friend will become. He never allows anyone to die through inaction, even when their passing would make his life easier. He loves his mother, and goes to extraordinary lengths to keep her from harm, and when he gets his friends into trouble stops at nothing until he he’s gotten them back out of it again.
He is as clumsy with physical objects and his movements as he is adept with his magic.
While Arthur is the real knight in shining armour of the show, Merlin toils faithfully in the background, muttering an enchantment from the sideline or boldly slaying the evil creature with an incorporeally thrown sword when everyone’s backs are turned. He manages to be heroic, without being a character who charges into battle. When he picks up a sword, he usually manages to drop it or trip over it before handing it to Arthur.
Merlin is extroverted, and makes friends easily and with almost anyone. He won’t suffer bullies, and tends to make sure they get their comeuppance, even (especially) when it’s Arthur doing the bullying. He smiles at pretty girls without stammering, but also without being quite suave enough to sweep them off their feet. He’s protective of small children.
Though I don’t think he’s articulated this to himself, Merlin connects deeply and emotionally with the world around him, and wouldn’t feel as though he was living life to the fullest if he was able to take a step back and not be quite so invested in the proverbial plight of his fellow man. He sees life as exciting, full of possibilities for either good or evil, and is on some level constantly searching for the truth about his destiny and how he’s tied to Arthur.
With the exception of the one big secret, Merlin doesn’t put on masks or have any social pretences. He is who he is, he feels what he feels, he says what he means. He is earnest, and an optimist, and on the whole he would describe himself as happy with his life.
It’ll be very interesting to see how he copes with the hard-horror environment. Although he’s certainly seen his share of unpleasant, horrifying things, Merlin is essentially a light hearted series, and each episode tends to end with a tender moment between Gaius and Merlin, and a quick joke to send everyone away with a smile on their face. He’s never dealt with prolonged, unchangeable stress or discomfort, and never run into a problem he couldn’t find a way to solve. Being haunted this way will be an interesting exercise in wearing him down slowly, that I look forward to playing out.
(Interesting, largely irrelevant side note; on the Jung Typology Test Merlin scores as Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling and Perceiving, ie ‘the Champion.’ Which made me laugh.)
Biggest Fear:
Merlin’s biggest fear is easily causing the death of a loved one; first and foremost, Arthur. Any of his friends after that, and acquaintances and strangers after that. He isn’t comfortable with the idea of anyone dying for him, but if he loses Arthur then not only will he have lost his very closest friend, he’ll have failed in his task to care for him and will no longer have a destiny to fulfill.
Powers:
Merlin is a warlock. That means being able to perform magic, in a number of ways. He can do minor things without a word; shifting beds, lifting swords, etc. More difficult magic requires spoken incantations, a number of which he has committed to memory. At home, he has a book of magic that he can use to look up whatever he needs. In Jigoku, he’ll be cut off from it and will have to rely exclusively on his own memory.
Whether the magic requires spoken words or not, when he performs a spell Merlin’s eyes change briefly from blue to gold. It’s very quick; no one has ever remarked on it in canon, but if you’re looking closely you’d be able to catch it.
SAMPLES:
Third Person:
Merlin wakes up, and lies still in bed. It’s immediately obvious that he isn’t where he was when he went to sleep. For one thing, he can’t hear Gaius puttering in his work room. For another, the bed is just impossibly soft, and vast. The blankets around him are a finer spun fabric than he’s ever felt before, even in Arthur’s chambers. Even the Lady Morgana’s dresses. The stone walls have been replaced with some sort of impossibly smooth plaster.
Something must have happened, because he can’t remember how he got here. He can still taste candy in his mouth. He’s woken up with strange tastes on his lips before, but this is a little too sweet to be one of Gaius’s medicines, and a little too pleasant tasting. Still, he tries to spit the taste out off the side of the bed, but it’s still there, cloyingly sweet. There must be somewhere he can draw some water. Once he’s figured out where he is, that is. Merlin wills his heart to stop pounding, and spends a few seconds trying to get his priorities straight.
He needs to find out what’s going on, before he can work out how to get out of here. To do that, he probably needs to talk to someone. To do that... Merlin does the only thing he can think of. He tries to call out but can’t quite, clears his throat and tries again.
“Arthur?”
First Person:
Ah- hm.
Is this working? I can’t tell- it certainly seems to be. If anyone can hear me and can answer a few questions? I am from a foreign kingdom, I don’t recall coming here. I don’t know if this is magic, or if there was- well, Gaius says I sing like a sailor if I so much as smell a barmaid’s apron, but I don’t think it’s possible to have had enough wine to forget coming somewhere like this.
What I mean to say is... this obviously is not Camelot.
Notes:
Language: yes, he’s from a time of sword and sorcery, but the language in the show is essentially modern, including modern expressions and the occasional ‘okay.’ Waved off as an effect of translation.
Serious issues: canon also kind of glosses over some of the more unpleasant historical details; women occasionally pick up swords and jump in the battle, no mentions of slaves or indentured servitude, very clean streets. It’s fantasy.
Mythology: Merlin is a household name. And with the talk of destiny being what it is in canon, I think it’d be interesting if people did remember the Arthurian mythos around him. Idk what game policies on canon-puncturing are, but I the mun have no problem with people knowing the legend of the round table and the sword in the stone et al, since there are definite differences between it and the show; Merlin not living backwards, Guinevere being ‘Gwen’ the maid, and so on. In fact it’d probably be fun to watch him twitch, with the name making him a recognized wizard, and him used to being so scared of people discovering his magic.
PLAYER:
Name: Steph
Personal Journal: knights_say_nih
Contact Info:
UndrwO on aim, underwater.owl@gmail.com
CHARACTER:
Name: Merlin
Source: Merlin (2008 BBC Miniseries)
History: Merlin is a young boy from a town a good distance away from Camelot, who grew up possessing natural magic in a time where being a sorcerer was a death sentence. His father is not in the picture (Canon is still ongoing and unclear on what happened to him, but for the sake of consistency in play I’ll say he died when Merlin was very young, and just hope the writers don’t spring him on me as a guest star somewhere down the road.) His mother adores him, and he adores her in return. For the most part, people in the village where he grew up were not aware of his powers, but rumours were beginning to circulate about how off he was, especially after he nearly brought a tree down on one of his neighbours by mistake. Merlin is many things, but subtle is not one of them.
Shortly after the tree incident, his mother decided that Merlin’s magic had became too hot for his little town to handle, so she sent him to live with an old friend of the family, in the hopes that living in a city will be a positive change for him. Gaius is the court physician to Uther Pendragon, the king of Camelot. He is an old man who has lived his life working for a questionable, oppressive regime, but he agrees to take Merlin in, at great personal risk. They form a close mentor-student (and later parent-child) relationship. Gaius is frequently impatient with Merlin’s messiness and penchant for diving into situations head first, risking his own life, but soon refers to him as ‘the son he never had.’
Gaius knows about Merlin’s magical abilities; the rest of the city does not. King Uther is deeply phobic of magic, and blames it for the death of his wife. Consequentially, anyone found using sorcery in his kingdom is promptly put to death, sometimes without a fair trial. It doesn’t matter what they’re using it for, just that they’re using it. If Gaius were found to be harbouring a warlock, he would probably be killed.
Uther’s hatred of all things mystical extends to magical beasts. We learn in the first episode that Uther has killed all but one of the dragons that used to roam the land, and has the last of them imprisoned in a cave beneath the castle.
This dragon contacts Merlin telepathically upon his arrival to Camelot, and informs him that it is his destiny to watch over Uther’s son, Arthur, until he becomes king. This distresses Merlin a great deal, as Arthur is something of a bully and frequently referred to as ‘the prat.’ However, he quickly ends up becoming his manservant. Predictably enough, the animosity between them turns to friendship as they learn to see the good in each other.
Merlin does not reveal the truth about his ability to use magic to the prince, but manages to save Arthur’s life with it more than once. He appears to be nothing more than a bumbling (if rather loyal) servant, but really plays the role of a kind of guardian angel. The series explores their friendship deepening, Arthur’s journey towards becoming a fair and noble king, and Merlin’s gaining understanding of the cost and responsibility wielding magic entails.
Most recently, he entered into a pact intending to sacrifice his own life to save Arthur’s, which misfired and almost killed both Gaius and Merlin’s own mother. He would arrive in Jigoku on the heels of this incident, freshly aware of the grave consequences irresponsible use of magic can have, and as nervous of discovery as ever.
Personality:
Merlin is a good natured, self-possessed young man who sort of hovers on the cusp of adulthood, but is still prone to making youthful mistakes.
He doesn’t hesitate to magically form patents of nobility so that Lancelot (a commoner) will be accepted into the knight’s training program, ignoring the obvious pitfalls of claiming that he’s the son of a living nobleman just because he believes it’s unjust that peasants can’t become knights. To his credit, when the ruse is discovered he does everything in his power to free Lancelot from prison and get him back into the king’s good favour, but it’s still not the kind of situation that anyone other than the young-adult star of a fantasy tv show would get in to.
Above all, I would describe Merlin as noble, in a very brave, semi-naive sort of way. He never hesitates to offer to sacrifice his life for Arthur’s, once he begins to understand what a great king his friend will become. He never allows anyone to die through inaction, even when their passing would make his life easier. He loves his mother, and goes to extraordinary lengths to keep her from harm, and when he gets his friends into trouble stops at nothing until he he’s gotten them back out of it again.
He is as clumsy with physical objects and his movements as he is adept with his magic.
While Arthur is the real knight in shining armour of the show, Merlin toils faithfully in the background, muttering an enchantment from the sideline or boldly slaying the evil creature with an incorporeally thrown sword when everyone’s backs are turned. He manages to be heroic, without being a character who charges into battle. When he picks up a sword, he usually manages to drop it or trip over it before handing it to Arthur.
Merlin is extroverted, and makes friends easily and with almost anyone. He won’t suffer bullies, and tends to make sure they get their comeuppance, even (especially) when it’s Arthur doing the bullying. He smiles at pretty girls without stammering, but also without being quite suave enough to sweep them off their feet. He’s protective of small children.
Though I don’t think he’s articulated this to himself, Merlin connects deeply and emotionally with the world around him, and wouldn’t feel as though he was living life to the fullest if he was able to take a step back and not be quite so invested in the proverbial plight of his fellow man. He sees life as exciting, full of possibilities for either good or evil, and is on some level constantly searching for the truth about his destiny and how he’s tied to Arthur.
With the exception of the one big secret, Merlin doesn’t put on masks or have any social pretences. He is who he is, he feels what he feels, he says what he means. He is earnest, and an optimist, and on the whole he would describe himself as happy with his life.
It’ll be very interesting to see how he copes with the hard-horror environment. Although he’s certainly seen his share of unpleasant, horrifying things, Merlin is essentially a light hearted series, and each episode tends to end with a tender moment between Gaius and Merlin, and a quick joke to send everyone away with a smile on their face. He’s never dealt with prolonged, unchangeable stress or discomfort, and never run into a problem he couldn’t find a way to solve. Being haunted this way will be an interesting exercise in wearing him down slowly, that I look forward to playing out.
(Interesting, largely irrelevant side note; on the Jung Typology Test Merlin scores as Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling and Perceiving, ie ‘the Champion.’ Which made me laugh.)
Biggest Fear:
Merlin’s biggest fear is easily causing the death of a loved one; first and foremost, Arthur. Any of his friends after that, and acquaintances and strangers after that. He isn’t comfortable with the idea of anyone dying for him, but if he loses Arthur then not only will he have lost his very closest friend, he’ll have failed in his task to care for him and will no longer have a destiny to fulfill.
Powers:
Merlin is a warlock. That means being able to perform magic, in a number of ways. He can do minor things without a word; shifting beds, lifting swords, etc. More difficult magic requires spoken incantations, a number of which he has committed to memory. At home, he has a book of magic that he can use to look up whatever he needs. In Jigoku, he’ll be cut off from it and will have to rely exclusively on his own memory.
Whether the magic requires spoken words or not, when he performs a spell Merlin’s eyes change briefly from blue to gold. It’s very quick; no one has ever remarked on it in canon, but if you’re looking closely you’d be able to catch it.
SAMPLES:
Third Person:
Merlin wakes up, and lies still in bed. It’s immediately obvious that he isn’t where he was when he went to sleep. For one thing, he can’t hear Gaius puttering in his work room. For another, the bed is just impossibly soft, and vast. The blankets around him are a finer spun fabric than he’s ever felt before, even in Arthur’s chambers. Even the Lady Morgana’s dresses. The stone walls have been replaced with some sort of impossibly smooth plaster.
Something must have happened, because he can’t remember how he got here. He can still taste candy in his mouth. He’s woken up with strange tastes on his lips before, but this is a little too sweet to be one of Gaius’s medicines, and a little too pleasant tasting. Still, he tries to spit the taste out off the side of the bed, but it’s still there, cloyingly sweet. There must be somewhere he can draw some water. Once he’s figured out where he is, that is. Merlin wills his heart to stop pounding, and spends a few seconds trying to get his priorities straight.
He needs to find out what’s going on, before he can work out how to get out of here. To do that, he probably needs to talk to someone. To do that... Merlin does the only thing he can think of. He tries to call out but can’t quite, clears his throat and tries again.
“Arthur?”
First Person:
Ah- hm.
Is this working? I can’t tell- it certainly seems to be. If anyone can hear me and can answer a few questions? I am from a foreign kingdom, I don’t recall coming here. I don’t know if this is magic, or if there was- well, Gaius says I sing like a sailor if I so much as smell a barmaid’s apron, but I don’t think it’s possible to have had enough wine to forget coming somewhere like this.
What I mean to say is... this obviously is not Camelot.
Notes:
Language: yes, he’s from a time of sword and sorcery, but the language in the show is essentially modern, including modern expressions and the occasional ‘okay.’ Waved off as an effect of translation.
Serious issues: canon also kind of glosses over some of the more unpleasant historical details; women occasionally pick up swords and jump in the battle, no mentions of slaves or indentured servitude, very clean streets. It’s fantasy.
Mythology: Merlin is a household name. And with the talk of destiny being what it is in canon, I think it’d be interesting if people did remember the Arthurian mythos around him. Idk what game policies on canon-puncturing are, but I the mun have no problem with people knowing the legend of the round table and the sword in the stone et al, since there are definite differences between it and the show; Merlin not living backwards, Guinevere being ‘Gwen’ the maid, and so on. In fact it’d probably be fun to watch him twitch, with the name making him a recognized wizard, and him used to being so scared of people discovering his magic.