#Arthur returns au

[pyjamacryptid]

So. I drew that “Arthur’s fished out of the lake” au of mine

edit: yes I know that boats like that likely wouldn’t fish on a lake, and that where avalon should be isn’t really a lake anymore - I promise I know this 😂 - the imagery of Arthur being fished out of a lake in a net was just too hilariously powerful 😂

[garden-variety-jumo]

This was gonna be just a pure vibes modern AU but I think I just made the funniest Arthur Returns AU actually

[paceprompting]

While You Were Gone

E | WIP | Ch 12/? | 23,866 words | Merthur

Summary:

Merlin's been alone in the failing remains of Ealdor, lonely and bitter as the years pass around him and Arthur never returns. Traveling to Avalon a last time, Merlin is fully prepared to end his suffering, but is instead finally rewarded for his centuries of waiting. Reunited, Merlin tries to acclimate Arthur to an entirely new life, unaware that Avalon did not bring back Arthur simply for him.

[weaponizedducks]

au where arthur returns. rises out of the lake. and people just think he's jesus. he's all over the news as the second coming of christ. his ego's at an all time high. he's so fucking confused. he goes on the graham norton show and graham norton introduces him as jesus.

merlin has no idea about any of this until he sees arthur on the news and goes batshit

[gldnstrngs]

merlin au where merlin is an archivist in present-day england and has spent over a millennium waiting for arthur to return

arthur finally wakes up and is able to reunite with merlin and they have the typical au experience where merlin helps arthur adjust to the modern world etc etc

but then merlin unexpectedly encounters morgana, who was reincarnated and grew up having odd dreams about magic and dragons and battles. it isn’t until she sees merlin again that she finally remembers their past

the three then proceed to bump into gwen and the knights within the next few months. none of them remember the past until they see merlin, morgana, or arthur again

now they’re reunited again and it’s much more than merlin hoped for, but then there’s the slight problem that the world might be ending due to unexpected catastrophes that maybe??? related to magic???

and then there’s the catastrophe that is the actual group, which is still filled with tension despite how many years it’s been. everyone is wary of morgana, but it’s to another extreme with gwaine (whom she tortured and killed in her past life) and merlin (whom she had years worth of beef with). there’s an awkward amount of tension between arthur and gwen, who are trying to navigate their relationship but not knowing what to do with it. and then there’s lancelot, who quietly observes arthur and gwen and still feels the same way for her just as he did back in camelot. percival and elyan are just basically watching everything go down

there’s a lot of saving the world and saving themselves involved, and merlin finally comes to terms with the fact that he’s been in love with arthur for over a thousand years. arthur intends to make things right for not only the group, but for the rest of the world, so that magic can be accepted again

oh, and he realizes that’s been in love with merlin this entire time

[silverdrws]

cozy merthur cuddle time

[potato-lord-but-not]

I'm so enamored with the Holy Ghosts au now. Give me two doodles and uncategorized lore and I'll eat it up tbh.

But what I came here to say is this: The fact that Noel expects Arthur to come back, knows he and John will come back (because he knows what they've been through and if they can get through this, they can probably get through damn near everything), is brilliant.

Especially when coupled with Oscar's grief. I call it grief because he doesn't know where Arthur is, doesn't know what happened to him; he was left on the doorstep of a hospital without much info or things to sustain his hope on. And next thing he knows, Noel is probably giving him one of the most confusing explanations - trying not to out John's existence - and saying he disappeared into thin air because of the same guy who made the butcher's head explode. Anyone would assume he would be dead.

What I think would realistically happen when they come back, is a fuckin whiplash for Oscar. He's grieved Arthur, he's gone through all the stages, he's accepted that he'll never see him again. Even if he wasn't dead, he probably wouldn't want to meet up, because well. He left him already. And then he shows up at the door, probably drenched in water and blood, and it's just... unraveling all that Oscar managed to accept and come to terms with.

"You died."

"I didn't ! We- I'm- I'm back !"

"You're.. back ?"

"Yes !! Oscar, you can't imagine, I'm- I'm so happy to finally see you again- I- A-are you okay ?"

"I thought you were dead. You're supposed to be dead. I accepted you were gone and I would never see you again, and now you're here ?! Alive, standing on your own two godforsaken feet, the same ones that walked away from me back then. I don't.. *sigh.* I need time."

ahh interaction

i need to write about them. yet another dynamic I'm now obsessed with

NOBODY FUCKING LOOK AT ME I WILL SOB

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Aithusa Returns Thoughts

- Lena's new favorite pasttime is to lay out in a clearing in the woods leaning up against Aithusa, letting the sounds and smells of nature wash over her. It reminds her of days recovering in the woods after Aithusa found Morgana. It's those peaceful memories that are the sharpest in Lena's mind, and she likes to linger there, enjoying a simpler time.

- Lena also starts to have nightmares. Some of it is nonsense, jumbles of thoughts and images unmoored from time. But more often she has nightmares of being pursued by a dark, ominous figure. He takes different forms, sometimes with the same face but always with the same hateful eyes. Most often he takes the form of a stopped old man with wrinkled features and long white hair. She knows him only by one name. Emrys.

- Lena soon meets the founder of another charity. His name is Archer, but despite the dudebro name he's actually quite sweet. There's something about him with his blonde hair and blue eyes, but Lena attributes it to his charm and their similar upbringings. While his family's fortune is relatively new compared to the Luthors, he grew up in and out of boarding schools, unable to find a true home for himself until he grew up and settled into his role as the founder of a charity for underprivileged kids.

- Lena and Archer become friends, not unlike she and Jack once were (but without the extracurricular benefits). They grow to become proof that platonic friendship is possible between men and women, and the trust between them is quick and easy, both inside the boardroom and out.

- Neither of them make the connection that once, a long long time ago, they were brother and sister.

- Kara is happy for Lena to have friends outside the Superfriends. It's been a long time since she's seen Lena so happy, despite her nightmares. She fills the space around her in a way she never had before learning her true nature as a witch, before finding Aithusa, before meeting Archer. She's happy that Lena has found her joy, and is allowing herself to truly enjoy it.

[anyafteryou]

[hopelessromantic5]

This one’s been on the shelf for a while.

Merthur modern AU-ish clip. Reincarnation-ish.

Enjoy.

“I don’t like this, Arthur.”

Turning to his best friend in concern, because he’d never heard that specific tone before, the blonde asks,

“What’s wrong?”

“Just something about this feels…very sad.” He pauses for a moment, eyes searching out over the perfect blue lake. Serene in its quiet.

That is, until the feeling starts creeping over Arthur too. Like a shadow moving closer of its own volition.

Merlin continues,

“It feels like…”

“Grief.” Arthur finishes for him, no more than a whisper to his voice. “It feels like grief.” After all he’s felt this before.

For his mother. It was so long ago now, but this exact feeling still catches him off guard on his best days.

As if reading his thoughts, Merlin speaks softly to him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-“

“You didn’t. I will always remind me of her. The real question is, why does this place seem to perspire sadness?”

“I don’t know.” Merlin says looking out again.

Suddenly he’s walking, without thinking twice, the raven haired boy is at the water’s edge in less than a second.

Arthur slowly comes to his side. Looking out at the water, trying to decipher its message.

“It’s the strangest feeling.” Merlin says, to no one in particular.

“Like we’ve been here before.” Arthur doesn’t know how he knows. But he definitely knows that he and Merlin stood on this same patch of grass, some time ago.

“Maybe we should-“

“No.” Merlin shakes his head vehemently. “No, I don’t want to go in.”

“Why?” Arthur whispers looking at his best friend. His other half, really.

“Whatever happened here-“ his voice breaks off as he chokes on a quiet sob. Merlin is never one to outwardly show his melancholy. “I don’t want it to happen again.”

“It’s not going to, Merlin. We’ll go in together, alright? I’ll hold your hand every step.” He reaches out and tugs at Merlin’s long pale fingers, currently wrapped around his torso in self-comfort. “I don’t know how I know but…the water will give us the answers.” He says, hovering his hand just above its surface. “It knows us.”

“What if it takes you, again?” Arthur wouldn’t have heard it if he wasn’t a step away.

“It won’t.” He states with all the conviction he possesses. “I won’t leave you here, again.”

Neither of them knows where these words came from or what they speak of, but in that moment, there is an understanding. Similar to the one they’d had all their mortal lives, but it is deeper somehow. Thicker with death and heartache. Covered in the cobwebs of time.

Slowly, Arthur steps his bare foot into the shallow water, tugging Merlin in with him.

It isn’t until Merlin’s skin touches the lake, that it all comes rushing back.

A castle, armor and swords, an unjust King, the day they met. Bickering words and sly comments that made Arthur smile blindingly at the thought. Then there was adventure. Into the forrest on a great white steed, always with his closest confidant next to him. Then there’s a vision of a golden bathed room, surrounded by all the people he loves and cherishes, as Geoffrey placed a crown of gold upon his head.

At last, the end. Sentimental words shared with the only person he cared to see him in that state. The only person he ever trusted with his heart.

And then nothing. Blackness. The last thing he remembered was Merlin’s heartbroken cry, and the calm lapping of lake waves on the shore.

There is a gasp and he is back in the present, still holding Merlin’s hand. But Arthur remembers. And he knows Merlin does too, by the look of sheer shock and adoration on his face.

“Arthur, I-“

“I know, Merlin. I’m sorry it took so long.”

[pyjamacryptid]

I want a silly au where Arthur’s return is just him being fished out of the lake by a fishing net, which is a surprise to both him AND the poor fisherman, who immediately lets go of the rope and dumps him back in the water. After he’s recovered from the shock, Arthur’s hauled back up again, looking like a drowned rat with a fish flopping about on his head. Merlin only finds out from a breaking news headline titled DROWNED MEDIEVAL COSPLAYER FISHED OUT OF LAKE BY HERO FISHERMAN, STILL IN CHARACTER

[giacarem]

listen, i need a “arthur returns” fic where Merlin keeps expecting Arthur to rise from Lake Avalon after all these years and so he builds a house right next to it, but nothing ever happens. It’s okay, he keeps living there and having his cottage there, but at some point he stops hoping and moves away

he keeps the cottage there, of course, and he visits it every year on the anniversary of Arthur’s death

Lake Avalon also becomes a popular romantic getaway sight, and Merlin can’t stand to see all the happy couples constantly

Years later, he meets a reincarnated Arthur, and is incredibly confused as to why Arthur has not risen from the lake like he expected

no matter, Arthur gains his memories back and him and Merlin talk about everything and then Merlin confesses

Merlin: You know, I always expected you to rise from Lake Avalon. I built a house there and waited for you

Arthur: You mean, that lake?

Merlin: Yeah

Arthur: Umm. Well. This is awkward.

Merlin: What?

Arthur: I have it on good authority that, you see. Lake Avalon is a beautiful tourist place now

Merlin: Yes I’m aware

Arthur: Well, you see. My parents went there on a holiday the year before I was born. And… well I’m not the best at math but I can count nine months and…

Merlin bursts out laughing when he realises, and saves Arthur the embarrassment of having to continue

And when the anniversary of Arthur’s death comes around again, Merlin has no need to return to that lake

[sunsetcurveauto]

ORESTES: Where have I seen you before?

MOIRA: In a dream.

ORESTES: A thousand years ago.

— Euripides (trans. Anne Carson)

[weaponizedducks]

another arthur returns au. merlin is sad and In Love so everyone he meets hears about this blond guy who insulted him for ten years and makes merlin sob everytime he talks about him and hears about how he 'left him' and how he's 'waiting for him' and they assume arthurs a really shitty ex boyfriend and merlin is delusional, traumatized, and whipped.

when arthur returns he has to deal with various verbal attacks form people who think he's merlin's ex and is just so confused.

[achillesuwu]

Post-return arthur that is so bored that he tries to make some food but he falls miserably because 99% of merlin house work with magic.

Electricity? Gas? Plumbing? Merlin never heard of her. The only non-magical technology in his house is an "cat" (*cough*dragon) toy that his new baby dragon wanted. That's it.

Arthur that got locked outside because the house was cross with him.

Arthur that tried once (1) to go into merlin office and— (Arthur : *glare*we don't talk about it) hem, never went alone in it ever again (hegotbluehairandturnedintoafrog.simultaneously)

Merlin house being strange enough to keep arthur entertained (by frustration) but also familiar enough in its lack of technology to not overwhelmed Arthur

[aetherdecember]

“It’s you.” | Arthur and Merlin | Gen | 135 Words | Last Unicorn AU

@merlinmicrofic

“Let the quest end here then.” Merlin spoke, almost lightly, though his face held only burdens. “Marry the prince and live happily ever after.”

“Yes,” the unicorn turned young woman answered. “That is my wish.”

But in the same moment Arthur said, “No.”

He put his hands out to her, and drew a step closer. She did not shy from him, instead taking the offered hands and holding his gaze until it was Arthur who looked away.

His gaze found Merlin’s, stern and knowing. “It’s you who knew better than I that the quest cannot end here. I’m a hero, nothing more. It’s only a trade, but heroes know about the order of things. Quests cannot simply be abandoned. Prophecies cannot be left unfulfilled. And happy endings cannot come in the middle of the story.”