#Arthur Stead

[justaz]

was thinking about merlin realizing that he could teleport wherever he wanted with his magic and then excitedly telling arthur that they could go wherever they want - rome, greece, china, egypt, france, wherever!! and arthur (who had a bit of dread in the beginning bc merlin was just so excited and he thought he was going to leave camelot and more importantly arthur behind) goes "...wait, we?" and merlin is practically buzzing with energy goes "yeah! we! what? did you think i'd go alone? i won't go anywhere without you." and they both just pause and merlin holds up a finger.

he ponders for a while before going "i mean, i can't leave you here alone bc camelot will burn. also you get into too much danger and you'd die without me here. so obviously for the betterment of both camelot and you, i'll have to make the sacrifice to take you with me." bc they're both emotionally stunted and can't admit that they care for each other and enjoy one another's company so they hide behind insults and mocking but they both know what the other means. anyways arthur hides his smile and just goes "mhmm yes of course. and i can't let you go alone. you'd end up kidnapped within the hour."

anyways merthur traveling the world fic when? roadtrip-esque fic when? only one bed + watching each other relax without the weight of destiny or a kingdom on their shoulders + arthur watching merlin soak up all these different cultures of magic with a besotted look upon his face + beach episode + merlin watching arthur play with these kids and thinking to himself how good a father arthur would be with all these Feelings + getting drunk in all these different countries and waking up cuddled together but they never stop getting drunk so they never stop waking up in each other's arms fic when?

[rdr2gifs]

[whataboutthreateninganass]

just to remind everybody how easily and quickly every single character fell in love with merlin, here’s a compilation of people who said thank you/i love you to merlin with their dying breath:

balinor - my son, ive seen enough in you to know that you will make me proud.

freya - you already saved me, you made me feel loved.

lancelot (the first time) - *literally chooses to die in merlin’s stead*

lancelot (the second time) - merlin, thank you

arthur - i want to say something i’ve never said to you before. thank you.

BONUS: the fisher king - thank you *tornado*

please feel free to add! i’m sure this list is not comprehensive considering how much everyone loved merlin

[millesaniclaim]

arthur morgan. compson's stead and ram mask

[ramblings-of-a-chaotic-neutral]

Time for another Merlin au!

In this au, in season 5, Camelot is cursed by Morgana to have all of their food and crops wither and die. The kingdom cannot survive under the curse for long and Arthur knows it, so he desperately visits the druids, whom he's made peace with, for magical assistance in lifting the curse. Merlin, of course, is working in secret to lift the curse, but he's lacking the exact spell needed to reverse the curse. He's tried spells that should work similarly to the reversal spell, but he's had no luck. So, he tries reaching out to the druids mentally for assistance while Arthur is meeting with them.

To Arthur, the druids inform him that the only way to lift such a dark and powerful curse is to perform a powerful ritual to call upon the powers of Emrys, the god of magic. However, the druids warn him, while they are certain that Emrys will come to his aid, the ritual comes with a cost. Arthur tells them that he would gladly give up his life for Camelot in order to complete the ritual, but the druids quickly tell him that a blood sacrifice isn't necessary. Instead, whoever successfully performs the ritual will then be tied to Emrys as his familiar in the mortal world.

When Arthur looks confused about what exactly a familiar is, the druids tell him that Emrys's familiar is someone who is bound by Emrys's will and has a mental connection to Emrys. The druids compare it to being Emrys's servant, carrying out his orders in the mortal world while Emrys is off doing his very powerful godly duties.

Arthur clenches his jaw, looking tense as he processed what he had just been told. All of the knights that they had taken with them are quick to volunteer themselves for the ritual, ready to hand themselves over to the no-doubt evil and nefarious god of magic. (To someone in Camelot who grew up under the purge, the old religion's god of magic must be the devil, their absolute worst nightmare.)

Merlin, meanwhile, is sitting next to Arthur and is simultaneously sweating bullets and is more confused than he's ever been in his entire life. Because what "godly duties" was he supposed to be fulfilling?? And how come he's never heard about a ritual to give him a familiar??

And more importantly, he's been TRYING to lift the curse for the past week, and nothing's worked! How the hell is some ritual to "call upon his power" work to break the curse when his own power has already proven to be useless here?!

However, the druids mentally tell Merlin that the binding ritual would grant Merlin the power necessary to fulfill the wishes of whoever was performing it. In this case, the ritual would grant Merlin the power to lift the curse.

For Merlin, this sounds like a perfect plan. Merlin himself would perform the ritual, lift the curse, and not have to deal with getting a new familiar! Because really, having a familiar sounded like more trouble than it was worth, and whoever became his familiar would surely discover that Merlin is Emrys, having a mental connection and all.

However, before Merlin could request the instructions for the ritual and come up with some way to distract Arthur, Arthur made up his mind. Arthur nobly tells his knights that he alone will take up this burden. Camelot is his to protect, and if he must turn himself over in servitude to the god of magic, then so be it. If he's called by Emrys to leave Camelot, then the crown goes to Gwen, who he knows will rule honorably in his stead. Arthur then turns to the druids and demands to be taken through the ritual.

Merlin, still next to Arthur, is just trying not to pull his hair out at this point because his perfect plan just got shot to hell. Merlin tries to mentally tell the druids to refuse Arthur's demands, but Arthur isn't taking no for an answer. Merlin then tries to convince Arthur to stop this, his kingdom needs him, and that Merlin should be the one to do it since he's the one who's already a servant anyway.

Arthur just looks sadly at Merlin and thanks him before ordering the knights to leave and take Merlin with them. Arthur wants to spare his friends the pain of seeing him hand himself over to Emrys. So, the knights leave the druid camp, dragging a kicking and screaming Merlin with them.

Poor Merlin, the knights all think, so loyal to Arthur. It must hurt the manservant so deeply to see Arthur sacrifice himself like this. Meanwhile, Merlin is freaking out because if Arthur becomes his familiar, which is already messed up in so many ways, there's absolutely no way that Merlin's going to be able to keep his magic a secret!

Meanwhile, the druids prepare Arthur and guide him through the ritual. They put a scented oil in his hair that's supposed to make him more pleasing to Emrys, but Arthur swears that it smells exactly like the calming oil that Merlin gives him after a restless day. They draw symbols on his armor with a mixture of berry paste and ash, and then finish their preparations by putting a woven crown of flowers on his head. Then, they have him perform the ritual itself, which has him kneel before an alter dedicated to Emrys (which rankles Arthur's pride just a bit) and reciting a prayer calling for help before he kisses the edge of the alter and recites his request for Emrys: to lift the curse placed upon Camelot's land and return its previous prosperity to it.

Immediately after Arthur finishes stating his request, a bright golden light emerges from the space right above the alter. At the very same moment, unbeknownst to any of the knights, Merlin's eyes flash a blinding gold. The light above the alter gently floats to the ground and sinks into the earth at Arthur's feet, and with a bright flash, the light races off in every direction, and every plant the light comes into contact with flourishes. Within only a few minutes, all of Camelot's crops are thriving once more, and the kingdom is saved.

After a few minutes had passed, the small pass of golden light rose out from the earth and moved closer to where Arthur stood, unmoving. Slowly, the ball moved closer to Arthur's body, and Arthur found that he couldn't move. Arthur flinched when the ball came into contact with his chest, but to his shock, it didn't hurt. No, the ball of light only felt warm, like the cozy warmth of his chambers with a fire roaring in his fireplace on a cold night. However, the little ball's movement didn't stop at Arthur's chest. Instead, the light diffused itself all over Arthur's body, until all of his body was covered in the golden light. Arthur waited for the pain to start at any moment, for his free will to be stripped away and for the god of magic to finally enact his revenge against the son of Uther Pendragon, but there was no pain.

After only a few moments, the light on Arthur's skin dimmed, leaving Arthur looking as he always did. Arthur didn't feel any different either. There was no godly voice booming in his head, and he could still move his body of his own volition, so Emrys wasn't controlling him like a puppet. If there's anything different, it's that there's a slight...buzzing in the back of his head.

The druids come to collect Arthur and take him back to his knights, telling him how grateful they are that Arthur has healed the land. Arthur accepts their thanks and makes his way back to Merlin and the knights, who are very relieved to see Arthur unharmed and acting like himself.

Arthur's slightly on edge for the whole ride back to Camelot, but to his great relief, nothing happens. That is, until a group of bandits decide to attack.

Because Arthur can physically SEE magic rising up to subtly fight the bandits. It rises from the earth and dances through the air as golden dust and golden light, and everywhere it goes, bandits fall or trip or drop their weapons, giving Camelot's knights the advantage. Arthur's so mesmerized by what he sees that he loses focus on the fight. That is, until the buzzing in his head roars and forms itself into words: BEHIND YOU!

Before he's even aware of what his body is doing, Arthur turns around and stabs the bandit that had crept up behind him. And it's then that Arthur realizes how much trouble he's in.

He's got the god of magic constantly buzzing in his head now, and Emrys is actively influencing the world around Arthur, and Arthur can't get away from it.

Thankfully, Emrys doesn't speak to him much, but what the god lacks in words, he makes up for in actions. Arthur can see how Emrys puts spells on his armor, his weapons, his chambers, and even his baths! Arthur has almost has a heart attack every time he sees the now-familiar golden dust float past people he cares about, getting close enough to touch them. The worst of it, by far, is around Merlin. The golden dust twirls and dances around Merlin, never letting Arthur see his friend without magic curled around him.

Arthur knows that it's a threat from Emrys to keep him in line, knows that the gold that swirls around Merlin could easily turn into weapons that could kill Merlin at a moment's notice, so Arthur grits his teeth and performs whatever tasks Emrys requires of him (which is normally small things like "don't eat that, it's poisoned" or "don't trust this visiting noble"). Arthur will play his part for now, but he will find a way to ensure his friends' protection from this nefarious god!

I'm going to end here, since I feel like this has already gone on for too long! I have lots of ideas revolving around rituals and Merlin's place as the god of magic, so expect at least two more au's that start similarly, but go in completely different directions!

Thank you for reading through my ramblings! :D

EDIT: You can find part two of this au here!

[dollopheadedmerlin]

Personally, I hate when people say that Merlin is king of the druids. Merlin isn't meant to be a king. He's meant to serve. Serve Arthur. Serve magic. Serve the earth beneath his feet and the waters falling from the skies. He gives and sacrifices and fuels the world around him.

King is objectively Arthur's role, and I think making Merlin a ruler of another people kind of dampens that. Merlin would not be king of the druids, he would be on his knees and beg and convince those with magic to follow his king. Even if Merlin is a god, he will always hold Arthur up high upon his shoulders. Worship him in my stead.

[morsking]

regularly scheduled lostbelt 6 post but man doesn't it fucking kill you the fsn lostbelt trio was the characters most known for being self-sacrificing and having been destined to meet an unsightly end just like how the entirety of faerie britain and everyone in it only existed as a sacrifice of retribution for an irreversible sin because a promise had been made and it was a promised that was owed.

you had the emiya shirou who gave his life and afterlife for the greater good and to keep his promise to fulfill kiritsugu's wish serving as the vessel for senji muramasa who promised he'd forge a sword that would sever karma and destiny and used his whole spirit origin to save artoria caster from a lonely death. artoria caster who was born to forge the holy sword artoria pendragon would wield into the years her kingdom would fall, the faerie dragging herself to her demise and the demise of king arthur and camelot kicking and screaming but doing so because her life was a promise to the star in the storm. and cu chulainn who died defending ulster never refusing the people who asked for his help yet being undone by the geass (the promises) he broke because above all he had promised himself he would walk no other path other than this very one he had chosen in his childhood so he was the perfect man to keep odin's promise that something of humanity would remain after the cataclysm in his stead. all of three of them standing in contrast to the fujimaru ritsuka who made a promise not to save the world but to carry on for the memory of romani archaman and to keep hold mash kyrielight's hand as she believed her brief life was coming to an end in the collapsing command center of chaldea and oberon who was the promise of a complete and absolute end to the tragedy of britain's existence.

lostbelt 6 is about promises dammit and it doesn't matter how painful they are they have to be kept because to live is a promise when you die you must have fulfilled your promise just as gareth fulfilled her promise as the last of the mirror clan just as percival fulfilled his promise to melusine just as melusine fulfilled her promise to aurora just as koyanskaya fulfilled her promise to muryan just as muryan fulfilled her promise to herself and the rest of the wing clan and just as habetrot fulfilled the promise she made as totorot. and that's why excalibur is the sword of promised victory. as long as it exists there is a promise that even in the furthest and darkest battlefield, waged not even by armies but by a small and ordinary person against despair itself, victory is promised it will be achieved so long as you hold on to the hope radiating from that promise.

[pigfacedbitch]

Remember when Gwen kissed Merlin when she thought he died? What if it was Arthur in his stead and Merlin is in Gwen's?

Merlin: [ kisses Arthur but pulls away quickly ] I'm sorry! I thought you were dead.

Arthur: [ stares for a second before lying down and closing his eyes again ] (+_+)

Merlin: ...What the hell are you doing?

Arthur: [ puckers up his lips with his eyes still closed ] Oh no, I'm dead. I will need another— no, wait. I demand many kisses.

Merlin: You prat, this is serious!

Arthur: Just shut up and kiss me again.

more incorrect quotes here!

[regulusrules]

I wonder sometimes about the bbc merlin writers' choice of making Arthur so oblivious to the love that surrounded him. Was it ignorance from their part or was it Arthur's actual incapability of being loved? He grew up praised as a prince but did it ever sink in when they started praising him as a man?

Like, did Arthur ever know that he was so loved by the people of his kingdom they would have devoted every waking day in his praise for how he made them feel safe after his father's brutal legacy? Or how much his knights would have laid down their lives for him in battle, in every danger present?

Did he know that Guinevere truly loved him with all her heart, with all of her soul and its limitless kindness?

Did he know how much Merlin lived and breathed for him, gave up his world and its entirety for him, prevented every tinge of hurt from ever touching him, and was ruined by it all in his stead?

Did Arthur ever know?

[theholmwoodfoundation]

MEMO FROM THE DESK OF JONATHAN HARKER 3RD 14th May 2024

Jeremy,  I have not yet received confirmation regarding your attendance of the Carpathians Trip. This is very disappointing behaviour.   Please respond to this memo with an answer by the end of the day.  I would like you to consider the fact that if you do not attend this trip, your request to be transferred to London may well be put on hold. Arthur Jones will have to travel in your stead, and we will need someone of similar standing to take his place while I am also away.  You are not the head of this company. You do not simply get to decide what you do and do not wish to do.  I await your reply.  JH.

VOICEMAIL TRANSCRIPT OF VOICE MESSAGE LEFT BY JEREMY LARKIN ON THE PRIVATE PHONE OF JONATHAN HARKER 3RD

(VOICEMAIL BEEP) JEREMY:  (DEEP BREATH)  …Mr Harker, thank you so much for your unexpected memo in my inbox this morning. It is, as always, a pleasure to hear from you. Regrettably I will be unable to attend the Carpathians trip, something I believe I have already made exceptionally clear to both yourself and the Amsterdam branch, with the fullness of time to find my replacement. I will be staying here. You cannot–....you cannot make me go.  I shall be transferring to London in July, as intended. I expect Mr Jones back at his job in the Archives by then.  Thank you for your time. (VOICEMAIL CLICK. CALL ENDS)

[rainbowsmagicandshit]

While away from the castle, King Arthur + his round table knights + Merlin run into a sorcerer who attacks them. Fight ensues and the sorcerer flings a spell at Arthur but Merlin intercepts it and is hit in his stead. Right as the spell hits Merlin, one of the knights kills the sorcerer. Arthur screams Merlin’s name and looks down to where he lays sprawled on the forest floor before him and crouching down next to him. Except Merlin now seems smaller than he did a moment ago, now swimming in his clothes. When Merlin sits up, they all see that Merlin is now a little kid (4-7) and his memories are that age too. The sorcerer who did this can’t undo it or tell them how to bc they’re dead. The knights, but mostly Arthur—bc that’s his manservant, no matter how incompetent he may be, thank you very much—take care of a young Merlin. Merlin doesn’t know who any of them are and they need to figure out how to get him back to normal.

A magic reveal happens pretty quickly bc Merlin is super young and doesn’t know Camelot’s anti-magic laws and the danger associated with it. He might know not to use magic in front of strangers, but gets scared and freaks out and his magic react to his emotions. Arthur quickly realizing that magic can’t possibly be evil bc look at Merlin. He’s so young and has told them he’s always had magic, and Arthur refuses to believe Merlin could be born evil.

[itsvelyria]

"f1 drivers as happy taylor swift songs"

happy testing week everybody!!

Charles Leclerc

yeah, you know i did one thing right🩷

he watches as you mutter conspiratorially with his mother, whispers in each other's ears and shooting glares to whoever dares eavesdrop. sitting on his childhood sofa, he reflects on the past and his life, pondering in the moment of silence. and there is this voice in his head that talks to him, reminding him of every regret, every single person he's loved and lost. he tries to shut the voice out, knowing full well the negativity never does any good. but as arthur had put it at dinner earlier, it seems as though he's been more relaxed of late. he brushes it off, but as his eyes train on the one he loved getting along swimmingly with the woman who loved him first, he thinks to chalk it up to the tiny nagging voice in his head that had appeared a few days ago out of the blue. the voice was a stark contrast to its predecessor, this one a ball of golden light, saying that maybe he's fucked up a lot, but at least he's got you.

Carlos Sainz

i know heaven's a thing, I go there when you touch me, honey💕

there is this undeniable tingle in his spine when your soft skin presses against his. even in the blistering Spanish heat, he welcomes any skin contact from you. he glances down at where the floppy sunhat blocks most of your face from the sun, and your eyes from his. wondering how much trouble you would give him if he flings the dreadful hat into the ocean, he misses the request you direct up at him. repeating the question, he nods, taking the suncream from your outstretched hands. he takes his time with the lotion, savouring every second his hands are on your back. you thank him with a quick press of your lips to his cheek and he rests a hand on your thigh, bending down to steal another from your lips. his love language was definitely physical touch, especially if it was yours.

Danny Ricciardo

i dared you to kiss me and ran when you tried💚

the sunshine is warm on your skin but the shoulder that brushes against yours is warmer. danny’s contagious laughter is carried by the gentle breeze that passes through the park. at age 9, danny had charmed your mom enough to let him bring her 7-year-old out on an adventure. your peripheral vision shows a teenage couple giggling over clasped hands, and when you’re young, you don’t think of the consequences, so the words slip out. “i bet you won't kiss me right here, right now”. and danny leans in, always ready for any challenge. and just as your lips are about to meet, you burst into laughter, darting away. you can still remember delightfully screaming through the public park as danny gives chase. it’s the same park he proposed in, after all.

George Russell

you wish it was me, don't you?💜

immersed in the classy ambiance of an art exhibition, george navigates the gallery adorned with bright splashes of paint marked contemporary. despite being engaged in interesting chatter, an inexplicable force compels you to lift your gaze, and it locks onto the familiar curls across the room. amid the elegant hum of hushed whispers, the air shifts, his lingering eyes meeting yours, giving rise to a thump in your chest. as his blue orbs drink in your form. once. twice. the rising tension manifests in the prickle of your bare shoulders and the unspoken question echoes amidst the artistic expressions. you yearn to step closer, to be the one on his arm. but long strands of brown silk and emerald green are in your place. and though his eyes long to meet yours again, there is nothing but empty space in your stead.

Lando Norris

so baby, can we dance through an avalanche?🖤

you drop the heavy box on the floor, the fatigue in your bones too wearisome to hold you up any longer. coupled with the emptiness of your apartment and the lack of a certain laughter in the stagnant air, you crumple onto the unmade bed. lying there for what seems like eternity, the thoughts of your future and whatnot plaguing your mind. the weight of unemployment burns heavily, so much so that you miss the sound of the door letting someone through. another body sags beside you, the familiar cologne staining your nostrils. your head turns, finding purchase in the shoulder beside. the stupid orange shirt reminds you of your limited time with him and something clicks. the home system is called upon as a DJ, playing soundtracks of celebration as you pull your boyfriend around the room in a made-up waltz, laughing at his put-out expression and then over the absolute misery that is life. despite the chaos, your heart still finds comfort in its other half’s presence.

Lewis Hamilton

romance is not dead, if you keep it just yours💙

as you clean the apartment you share with lewis, your gaze falls onto the cream card hidden just between your books. Persuasion and Porchia, you note. the seal on it a light purple, the shape of a heart in the hardened wax, and you can picture your boyfriend sliding it onto your bookshelf before he had left for another race this morning, a smirk on his face as he imagines you finding it, and you already know what it is. tracing the edges of the envelope lightly, you break the seal and slide the pages out, unfolding it to reveal the handwriting you had come to reverent. in swooping sloping cursive letters, he proclaims his love again, like he does in every single one of these. and as cheesy as it is, you treasure every single one of them, tucking them away in a little box at the corner of your wardrobe. someday when you have kids, maybe you'll take it out to show them just how deeply their father loves.

Max Verstappen

i don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you🩶

he knew this. he knew full well his career would take him across the world for three quarters out of the year and yet, the one thing he failed to realize was that nothing would feel like home. and then he found you, the absolute enigma that chose to do the same thing he did, realising early on that your home wasn’t in a place. and the streets of Kyoto were just lifeless alleyways till you pointed out the cosy glow of the warm streetlights with your brown streaked hair that shined gold under them and the dark nightscape with the way you shined in his eyes. you did the same for the beaches in Miami and balconies of Spain, easing the loneliness in his memories. slowly but surely, the words you had spoken to him were coming true and his home was taking the shape of you.

[verdemoun]

still sad about kieran fam i wish we got a rescue mission. should've been an optional side quest and it would've been 'Tracking with Charles'

You can approach Charles in camp and he asks if Arthur has a minute. Grimshaw asked him to look for Kieran after Jack's Party and he's found tracks but it's a lot more than just one person. Arthur rolls his eyes and says something dismissive about finding out what the O'Driscoll was up to.

You end up back at Lone Mule Stead and see a lot of O'Driscolls around, which leads to the typical shoot 'em up where you have to take out 15-20 O'Driscolls with Charles.

There's no music as you resume tracking. Kieran's track becomes wounded animal red and leads to the basement.

He's just laying there with his eyes gouged out.

Cutscene where Arthur has his 'goddamnit' reaction similar to thinking Albert Mason actually fell to his death only for Kieran to gasp or groan, and there's a horrible moment where Charles just really sadly and in disbelief says he's still alive

Arthur picks Kieran up to shrieks of pain while Kieran weakly asks if it's him and Arthur softly assures him he's going to be alright.

Charles goes to interrupt and Arthur hisses at him to be quiet. Kieran is very obviously not going to be alright. Kieran gives the weakest half smile because 'you were looking for me?'.

'Course we was. You're one of us, right?'

Kieran is too weak to actually respond but makes a soft noise of appreciation and it’s just 20 seconds of shallow ragged breaths before silence.

Charles puts his hand on Arthur’s shoulder and he makes a gruff sniffle big men don’t cry and says he’ll carry him.

Cinematic parallel to riding into Colter with Kieran hogtied but it’s Kieran’s corpse over the back of Arthur’s horse as he walks the drive of Shady Belle. Mary-Beth still shouts it’s Kieran but much more sad than horrified.

Mission ends and you can find Kieran’s grave in its usual place.

[happyqueenandgrumpydork]

The Woman With Blue Scarf(Story Au)

*In a far off land was a kingdom to King Arthur. One fine day, one of his trusty knights named Branch was out for a stroll on his stead and decided to rest by a pond. The young man sat by the pond as he horse drank the water.*

[lalluviadeanoche]

I find it funny how Merlin in the show is kinda showed as an outcast who’d be unable to find someone unless they’re also an outcast (ex. Freya🩷) but it’s actually the opposite. Also the same can kinda be said about Gwen not in an outcast kind of way but in a “she’s too kind hearted and gentle” when in fact she has the same effect as Merlin.

Merlin was pulling men n women left and right. In no particular order we have: Arthur, Gwen, Lance, Gwaine, Freya, that one tavern maid, and that’s just off the top of my head! You also can’t convince me that the rest of the round table (although maybe not romantically wise but still charmed enough) would not do whatever Merlin asked if he just flashed them a little smile.. how can they say no to that face?!

Gwen was also pulling ppl left and right! You have: Arthur, Morgana, Lance, Gwaine, in a way Leon. Like ik for a fact Elyan was suffering with both his bosses making heart eyes at his little sister (I head canon that since they grew up together Leon had a big crush on her whenever they were kids and maybe even early teen years. Also.. is she younger??). People would follow her wherever because she’s so kind and caring that there’s no way she’d stead them wrong. More than anyone, she’s their moral compass and heart.

~•~•~•

Also since I’m talking interests I’d like to talk about the funny romance between Merlin n Morgana they tried to do in the early two seasons (I think..) because I do think it’s a cute thought in their early years but I just can’t see them in a genuinely romantic manner. I feel like they’d have an intimate closeness but completely platonic. They’d love and care for each other just not in a romantic sense. They have such an interesting relationship that just doesn’t and can’t cross that boundary. They truly could’ve been the best of friends 😢

[wordsinhaled]

hope y'all are ready for another unhinged merlin post, friends

okay, because we always talk about how much merlin does to help and save arthur, and how drawn he is to him. but can we talk about how from the very beginning arthur has been indignant and ready to put himself in harm's way at the thought of harm coming to merlin??? i am at the beginning of my rewatch so i'm focusing mostly on the early eps, so -

in the THIRD episode, when merlin tries to turn himself in as a sorcerer - arthur (visibly distressed) covers for him immediately - not just because he thinks merlin couldn't possibly have magic, but because he knows merlin will be killed in gwen's stead

in the FOURTH episode - he'd rather drink from the poisoned chalice himself than have merlin drink it - an unheard of level of risk for someone to take for their manservant in camelot's society

like??? can we talk about how arthur's first thought the moment merlin is poisoned is, "sounds like fun, i'll brave a journey that'll put me in mortal peril for someone i've only known for a few months, at the longest"? can we talk about how he disobeys uther directly and sets out on his own, knowing that it could end to his own death? can we talk about how he and merlin are fucking psychically connected?

can we talk about how their interwoven destiny is known and used against both of them from the very beginning???

i want to talk too about uther's complete lack of understanding of how important merlin is to arthur. he just doesn't understand why arthur is so distressed, why he's willing to risk his life, why he's willing to sacrifice himself to save merlin. and arthur says it's because that's not the kind of king he would want to be. he says it's because he wants to be the kind of ruler who wouldn't discount a "mere" servant's life. he says that merlin saved his life, so of course he'd want to do the same for him. and of course, this is true - arthur is noble, and good-hearted, and he does the right thing even when it contravenes what his father would do or wants him to do

but like... there's the part where he genuinely cares for merlin, specifically - not just for a life debt owed, not just on the principle that a servant's life is equal to a lord's or a king's. merlin, specifically. it can be seen in the way he immediately rushes to protect merlin or to deflect attention away from him whenever merlin makes a scene in public at court that puts him at risk. in his visible worry when merlin drinks from the poisoned chalice. in the way he rushes to merlin's side after he collapses, and frets over him while gaius checks him over

and most of all (in this particular episode), it can be seen during the scene at the end - the scene shot over merlin's shoulder, where you see arthur entering gaius' chambers from behind merlin - and the relief that fills his face when he sees that merlin is up and eating, that's not prince arthur, or obnoxious lordling arthur; that's just arthur at his most genuine, with no posturing, when no one is paying attention to him. the way he takes a second before he schools himself to start up his usual banter with merlin, playing the taskmaster prince again, minimizing the risk he took for merlin's sake. but the way that persona falls again, and he tells merlin that he came to see if he was alright. tells merlin to get some rest

it's about merlin, specifically, and what he has come to mean to arthur. not just the life of any manservant, but merlin's life, merlin's importance to him

i also have a broader tangent about the relationship between uther and arthur & uther + homophobia, and how arthur's dynamic with merlin plays into it. "he's just a boy," uther tells morgana in this episode, and she counters, "have you seen your son lately?" and i think the trouble is uther has seen arthur lately, and he's not comfortable with what he sees. he doesn't understand arthur's closeness and attachment to merlin, and i'd argue that he's noticing his son's queerness and trying to stamp it out of him/trying to denial his way out of dealing with it directly. uther fits the mold of the toxically masculine/authoritarian father who sees the queerness in his child and responds by becoming even more cruelly authoritarian

as for arthur - arthur's been told since birth that he's crown prince, that he'll need to rule camelot, and produce his own heir to continue the line of camelot, and i would argue that arthur's need to prove himself, his bravado, his deep-seated need for his father's approval comes from the pressure also of knowing in his core that he doesn't measure up to what his father wants for him - he's kinder, yes, and more just - but also softer at heart, and queer in ways that aren't permitted for his time or station or for what he knows are his responsibilities as a future monarch. it comes to the fore whenever his connection to merlin hangs in the balance, when we're able to see arthur in unguarded moments when he can be his unadulterated self

i think we talk often about how merlin is drawn to arthur, and also i think it's very clear to see how merlin's magic is allegorical for queerness/closetedness, but my favorite to explore is how arthur gravitates towards merlin, and arthur's queerness, and it's especially apparent in these early episodes

and tl;dr basically merthur is WILD and i will never be normal about them even in the year of our lord 2023