#Imagine the knights of the round table with Merlin at some hide-out | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

pendragon-of-chaos · 3 years ago

Text

Just your heartbeat

Arthur Pendragon NNT x Doctor!femS/O

Warnings: None

Author’s note: This is my first post here, and i don’t think I will post much because i don’t have the imagination to make it a hobby, but my asks will be open if someone wants to send me a request or something. Just keep in mind I will mostly do it slowly! Headcanons or scenarios are valid!

Arthur is one of my biggest husbandos but he doesn’t get the same attention as the rest of the characters, so I just felt the necessity of publishing this one shot I imagined, hoping that my fellow Arthur stans like it! English isn’t my first language so I’m sorry if there are some errors. Feedback would be great!

Word count: 1515

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Life isn't easy when your castle, and practically the whole city, is being occupied by the demon clan. The Camelot population was forced to live in an underground bunker while the Holy War happens in Britannia, and as their King, Arthur dedicates his time in doing surveillance rounds, accompanied by Cath, Nanashi, and some of his knights.

He always had incredible abilities in combat, specially with swords, thanks to Merlin's training. However, when this situacion started he couldn't do much except to ask his comrades for help so the number of demons around the city wouldn't ascend. I'm saying at first, because thanks to the passing of time and Nanashi's experience, now he can take out a good bunch of demons all by himself without breaking a sweat.

Or at least the majority of times.

Because of his impulssive nature, acheing for adventures and new challenges, the young King ended up today more bruised than expected.

"King Arthur, you're back!" - Announced one of the villagers who were standing next to the doors which led to one of the main rooms in the underground city. More villagers gathered around the doors until they were completely opened - "Did you have any problems? It's been a while since we saw you looking like that"

Arthur's clothes were dirtier than usual, with some tears here and there. You could even see some small bruises in his face, but nothing big enough to worry at first sight.

"Don't worry! I may have been a little bit careless, but I'm fine, and I also could defeat some dozens of demons as usual!" - Replied the young King with his cheerful and enthusiastic self, puffing up his chest in a prideful way. At least until a sudden pain made him stop and cough while taking his hand to his chest, leaving the people watching him concerned

"I will go get some of the leftovers from lunch, please don't overwork yourself" - Said one of the women while she returned to the dining room along some more.

"You should get checked by (Y/N), just to be sure that you don't have mayor injuries".

Arthur couldn't help being nervous when he heard (Y/N)'s name. He was a carefree and adventurous boy, working on his strengh since he got separated from the seven deadly sins to protect his people; but he still had weaknesses, and (Y/N) was one of them.

How could he not fall in love with her? She was sweet, helpful and loved by the town. He had visited her more than once and her voice alone made him feel butterflies. With the passing of time it became more difficult to see her, He could barely hide his feelings and that embarrased him even more.

"I insist, it is nothing! I'm sure the pain will fade away the moment I rest-" - His excuses were interrumpted by Nanashi, who got closer to check him with a look

"It wouldn't hurt you doing a little check up. Besides, it's not only for your wellness, it's also for Camelot's people since they want to see you healthy. You are their protector after all"

Arthur couldn't do much besides nodding while scratching his head and look at the ground; knowing well that it wouldnt matter whatever he had to say, because they would keep insisting until they were sure that their King was in full condition

"Well, if that majes you happy, I'll go right now..." - He looked up as the villagers started to nod and continued with their chores. Once the crowd dissipated he walked to the nearest table so he could put down the basket where Cath was, and then he set course to (Y/N)'s room. In front of it, the King took a deep breath to gather the courage and knocked on the door

“Come in!” – A cheerful voice spoke from inside. (Y/N) kept looking to the door from her seat across the room, until Arthur appeared – “Your Majesty! It’s been a while since the last time you came here, did something go wrong?” – She stood up and bowed to greet him.

Arthur closed the door behind him, smiling gently at her – “I told you to call me Arthur, we know each other well. And, I just got slightly hit while patrolling, but they forced me to visit you” – He ended with a nervous smile – “I didn’t mean to bother you!”

(Y/N) listened carefully and made a gesture with her hand, inviting him to take a seat on the bed so she could observe him well.

“You don’t bother, it’s my work to make sure nobody is ill or hurt after all” – Arthur took off his sword so he could sit comfortably, waiting until (Y/N) got closer to his face – “Hmm, just some bruises and cuts, as usual, they will heal fast” – (Y/N) looked into his eyes, smiling relieved, making it imposible for Arthur to hide the sudden blush on his face. Once done, she stepped back.

“I already told them that it was nothing to worry about, but it’s nice to confirm it”

“However, your clothes show signs of combat. Are you sure it doesn’t hurt in any other place?”

“I’ve only felt a sudden pain in my chest” – He said while pointing at himself, right where he felt it – “But I don’t think it’s really important”.

“I see… I can’t allow myself to let you go without being completely sure you are alright, so please, take off your shirt so I can auscultate you” – And with that said, (Y/N) turned around so she could get her stethoscope.

Arthur followed her words and left his clothes to the side embarrased, preparing himself for (Y/N)’s next move. What he didn’t know was that (Y/N) was doing the exact same thing, and she was thankful of having turned her back on Arthur so he couldn’t see her face. After all, she couldn’t deny she had a little crush on the young King.

Once prepared, (Y/N) turned around and went back to sit next to Arthur, looking at his chest.

“You do have a bruise where you pointed some seconds ago” – She adjusted the stethoscope in her ears, pressing the metalic end on Arthur’s back, causing him to shiver at the sudden cold – “Take a deep breath please”

While (Y/N) listened carefully pressing on his back, Arthur looked to the wall in front of him. His only mission right now was avoinding getting nervous again, but (Y/N)’s closeness and the intrusive thoughts which claimed that (Y/N) had indeed noticed his blush a few minutes ago made it difficult for him. The more he tried to avoid those thoughts, the more he realized he was in love with her. Just a few seconds later he felt the metal on his chest, fearing the worst.

His fast heartbeat didn’t go unnoticed. (Y/N) frowned a little. Could it be because he just came back of fighting? Maybe, but his calm behaviour said otherwise.

Worried, (Y/N) stayed a few more seconds listening to his heart, to make sure her ears weren’t fooling her, until she got up, pulled away and took off her stethoscope – “Your lungs are alright, but there’s something worrying me, your heart is beating faster than it should… that could mean you have an internal wound…”

Yup, she got him. At least she didn’t think about the reason being him crushing on her. Besides, (Y/N) supossed that being Arthur a King, there wasn’t any hope for her, so she simply thought that there was an unknown problem with him.

“Like I said, they’re just some bruises” – Arthur took his clothes and dressed quickly, getting up and looking at (Y/N) – “Thanks to you I even feel better! I’ll go right now to inform the people there is nothing to worry about” – He walked to the door and before he could open it (Y/N)’s voice made him stop and turn around slightly

“Even so, come back in a while! I want to be sure it really isn’t anything dangerous”

Arthur could feel her concern in her words, adding fuel to his feelings

“Later? Even if I feel alright?” – (Y/N) nodded, laughing at Arthur’s stubborness.

“Even if you feel alright. And if you don’t come back, I will search for you”

Arthur sighed softly with a smile- “In that case I will be back in some hours so you don’t have to worry more than necessary, and you will see that I’m as well as always!” – Laughing he opened the door and said goodbye until he was out of the room.

Another blush appeared again in his cheeks thinking about what he agreed to do. Coming back? Knowing him, he will be caught again, and he can’t make excuses forever. He better learn to relax himself or he would end up having to confess his feelings without being prepared.

In her room, (Y/N) sat again on her chair leaning on the table with a goofy grin, wishing that those heartbeats where for her; and without knowing (at least for now) that indeed, it was like that.

#arthur nnt #nnt #sds #sds arthur #arthur pendragon #arthurxreader #arthur x reader #arthur nnt x reader #arthur sds x reader #seven deadly sins #nanatsu no taizai #7ds #arthur x you #nanatsunotaizai #sevendeadlysins

167 notes · View notes

thesleepy1 · 4 years ago

Text

All In Endearment, Dear

A/N: My friend really liked that last fic and they wanted another one. I am so glad they liked it. One of the only positive things that happened in a while, hahaha. To anyone who comes across this, commenting, anything, even if it's just a smile makes my day. I finally get to feel that little surge of happiness when my fics are being read. It's a nice feeling, not going to lie. And to top off all of that, @queenofchaos7 requested that I continue this fic. So here we are.

Pairings: Merlin x Arthur

Summary: In an attempt to be more direct with Arthur, he takes Merlin out hunting with his knights. Something so intimate and a clear show of his loyalty, that Merlin could not mistake it as anything else. And in the middle of the forest, Arthur would not be able to chicken out like a coward, lest Merlin gets lost in the forest.

Word count: 3,824

Part 1

Part 3

Warnings: language, suggestive language, crude jokes, violence, blood,

Merlin was ignoring him. The man just had to be. Sure, Merlin came when called, was present in the council meetings, and everytime Arthur “accidently” injured himself Merlin would be there to nurse his wounds. It was just that Merlin rarely ever made eye contact with him anymore unless absolutely necessary. Merlin rarely ever lingered when called anymore, quickly leaving Arthur’s side to do who knows what.

Everyone already knew that Merlin was a wizard. Arthur was in full support of Merlin’s power and his ability to be useful among the court. For once in the brunette’s life that is.

There was no reason why Merlin should be avoiding him like this. Had he done something to make the man upset? Was it the rain comment from the week prior? Whatever it was, it was making him lose sleep. Arthur had long admitted that he was infatuated with Merlin, in love even. Though that was a big word. But obsessed to the point of losing sleep? That was where he drew the line.

“Merlin!” Arthur yelled in that way of his. So distinctive that Merlin subconsciously curled up deeper into his nest of blankets. “Merlin!” Arthur yelled again, banging on Merlin’s door in Gaius’ quarters. “I know you aren’t at the tavern. I checked already. Wake up and come out here or I’m going in!”

Begrudgingly, Merlin rolled out of his straw stuffed bed and unlatched the door for Arthur. The king immediately stepped in before Merlin could close him out. “Do you realize how late it is?” Merlin asked in a sleep filled voice, not expecting Arthur to reply.

“Early actually, Merlin. The sun will be up in an hour or so,” Arthur replied, trying to hide the effects that Merlin’s sleep filled voice had on him. The king was so glad that the room was too dark to properly see.

“That doesn’t explain why you’re in my room, you twat,” Merlin groaned, trying to make Arthur out without magic. If he didn’t know any better, it looked like Arthur was in his hunting outfit.

“Would it be absurd to say I just wanted to see you?” Arthur asked in mock jest, watching Merlin’s face in the dark of the room. Even without light, he was shining.

“You see me everyday, remember? I work for you,” Merlin countered, turning on his heel to beeline for his bed.

“But you’ve been ignoring me.”

Merlin ignored him in favor for getting back into his bed.

“Merlin,” Arthur tired again. “I’m here for a reason, you know.” When Merlin didn’t reply Arthur rolled his eyes. “I’m taking you hunting.”

That got the wizard right out of his bed. “What?” he exclaimed in confusion, his hair stuck up on one side. Arthur was tempted to fix it back into place.

“What do you mean, what? We’re going hunting in the forest.” Arthur approached the bedside slowly, as if coming up to a sleeping lion in its den.

“Is that an order?” Merlin mumbled against the bed, pressing his sagging pillow against his head to hide away from Arthur. His shirt was riding up his chest from the movement and Arthur had to quickly look away.

“I-it is,” Arthur stuttered, suddenly very interested in Merlin’s walls. The wizard had a little parchment picture of a bird nailed to his wall. The sketch was quite accurate, though Arthur could not remember for the life of him what kind of bird it was. “We’re going hunting with the knights.”

“Couldn’t this wait until morning?”

“It is morning, Merlin,” Arthur inched toward the door, suddenly very aware that Merlin had gotten up from his bed and was currently undressing behind him. “J-just hurry or else we’re leaving you behind.”

“Well, we can’t have that,” Merlin snarked, shrugging into a new tunic. “You might stab yourself with your own sword if I’m not around.”

Arthur turned around, offended that Merlin would say such a thing, “Well I would have you know-” Merlin had yet to put on a new pair of trousers. Arthur ran from the door without saying another word, scarred for life at what he had seen. Merlin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion until he heard a distant shout. “I still expect you to be there, Merlin!” Groaning at the unfairness of life, Merlin stepped into his trousers and made his way to the courtyard.

Arthur and the knights were there waiting for him, everyone disregarding, Arthur looked just as exhausted as he was. One of them was barely holding onto his mount. “Dear god, Arthur, what are you doing?” Merlin asked with a yawn, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Take the lot of you hunting for a great beast or something the kitchen staff could roast for us!”

Merlin was ready to leap off a cliff. “At this ungodly hour?” he asked, not really expecting an answer.

“Of course, Merlin. Do you really expect us to hunt at night?” Arthur answered with a smirk on his lips. The knights of the round table all looked as if they were ready to kill their king as well. Gwaine was half asleep on his stallion. Lancelot was sleeping with his eyes open, the lucky bastard.

“I expect you to hunt without me,” Merlin shook his head, turning his back on Arthur to saddle his own horse. The mare was purposely stronger than the others, a more reliant breed that had the best sense of home. If anything were to happen while they were hunting, Arthur wanted Merlin safe.

“Come on, Merlin. It won’t be that bad,” Arthur sounded, ordering his knights to flank him as they rode off into the forest. “Really, it could be worse.”

“It really couldn’t.” Merlin rode to his left, Percival to his right. For knights of his court, none of them except Leon seemed to be properly awake. Even Elyan who used to get up before the break of dawn to help his father was trying to not doze off. Arthur was frankly disappointed in them.

“It could be fun, Merlin,” Leon gave him a reassuring grin, reminding Arthur of a golden retriever. “If anything happens out here, we’ll be here to protect you.”

“It's more likely that Merlin would get himself into a spout of trouble. He’s a magnet for that sort of thing,” Arthur butted in, suddenly aware of how close Leon was to Merlin despite their protective formation. His knight looked bright and cheerful even when the sun barely broke the horizon. “Don’t worry, Merlin. We’ll be sure to save you from yourself,” Arthur added, playfully punched Merlin on the shoulder.

“Ouch, that hurt,” Merlin groaned, rubbing against the spot Arthur had hit.

“You’ll live,” Arthur hid the guilt that ran through his system well. “If you can’t take a punch then you won’t survive out here, you clotpole.”

“First you take my sleep then you take my insults, what next, my breakfast? Oh, wait,” Merlin snarked, holding the reins to his mare tightly. Arthur had made Merlin carry all of their supplies, his horse being the strongest and all. But the wizard didn’t know that. He just saw Arthur as dead from the head up inconsiderate.

“You haven’t had breakfast, Merlin?” Elyan asked in a concerned tone. When Merlin shook his head, Elyan quickly glared at the back of Arthur’s head. “We should catch something for you then. The rest of us had bread and cheese before departing,” Elyan informed, grabbing the box strapped to his back to notch an arrow and be on the lookout.

“He’ll be fine. Missing one meal won’t kill him,” Arthur brushed off Elyan’s concern. His knight was a much more skilled archer than he was. If he was to impress Merlin then he would need all the chances he could get. Perhaps taking his most skilled knights into the forest to hunt for sport was not the most brilliant idea.

But if it were only him and Merlin, then the wizard might have suspected something amiss. Arthur rarely went outside of the city outskirts unless it were for a diplomatic meeting. And he never hunted before day break. It was unsafe to do so alone. However, Arthur wanted all the time he needed to confess to Merlin. So, really, bringing the knights was the only smart choice.

Arthur was beginning to regret his intelligent decision.

The sun finally rose to signal that morning had truly arrived. And with it brought disappointment. They had spent the entirety of the morning running around like cocks with their heads chopped off. Not a single one of them could catch even the smallest of blue jays. No one had any luck.

Arthur even begged Merlin to cast a spell to make something fall at their feet but the wizard had refused because he found it too cruel. The king agreed but at the same time, they would be killing the creature for supper either way. Did it really matter, how?

According to Merlin, yes.

And that was how they ended up here at the river. Noon had just passed its peak and the soft morning sun was blistering with heat. Everyone was sweating in their armor and gear. Practically begging Arthur to stop for a dip. Pleading that they’ll try to catch some fish while they were at it.

Only Merlin sat fine as can be in his faded blue tunic and red handkerchief. The fabric so worn and loved, Arthur could only imagine how soft they were. Though, those two items seemed to be the only things in Merlin’s wardrobe. That and the inverted of the two, faded red tunics and blue handkerchiefs. The wizard’s sense of style was lacking to say the least.

“Do I have something on my face?”

“Besides arrogance? Not that I know of,” Arthur answered defensively, turning his back on Merlin for the second time that day. All the knights had piled their armour and clothes on the ground, running head first into the river. The wizard clearly didn’t want to be left out.

Arthur may join them in the water but there was no possible way he could compete with them. They were soldiers, training from morning till evening and then some more. Their bodies were muscular, hair greased and unruly, their scars gleamed in the sun. Arthur couldn’t help but stare at them, watching as droplets fell from their rippling chest. His face grew bright red, heat making him dizzy as he resisted the urge to look lower.

Merlin was having no such complications.

The wizard had just taken off his drawstring trousers. His boots laid next to the knight’s pile of clothes. The horses were tied to a nearby tree and happily grazing. Arthur noticed these simple things so as to not stare at Merlin’s figure. As much as he would like to make fun of Merlin, there was nothing to make a mockery of. For a simple servant, Merlin was quite fit.

“Come on, Arthur! The water is great,” Gwaine yelled from the river, splashing on shore where Arthur was still standing with his gear on. His back was to the group, but his knights knew damn well why he was not looking their way. They had found out about his little crush on Merlin after he had one too many tankards. And since then, they had not ceased in their teasing.

“There could be leeches in there for all you know,” Arthur replied, watching a family of birds high up on the tree branches.

“Leeches are harmless,” Merlin said in a cheerful tone. He could hear the man swimming and splashing behind him. “If you’re worried about the leeches’ well-being, Arthur, they’ll be fine. Missing one meal won’t kill them,” Merlin laughed in a way that made butterflies flutter in Arthur’s stomach.

“Ha, ha, very funny, Merlin.”

“The river feels wonderful,” Leon added as well, looking like a glowing greek god come alive. Sure, all of his knights were good looking, but he saw the way the soldier looked at Merlin. Just because Leon knew about his crush, doesn’t mean the man wasn’t willing to steal Merlin. The knight was so clearly flaunting his muscles, tousling his bright blonde hair with his veiny hand. “Why don’t you join us?”

“Please, Arthur?” Merlin pleaded, the sound going straight to Arthur’s heart and perhaps somewhere lower. “It will probably fix your sour mood.”

“I don’t think anything can fix that,” Percival said with a grin that took up the entirety of his face.

“I think only one thing could.” Arthur could feel Gwaine’s wink against the back of his head. He resisted the urge to gag in the back of his throat. If he loses to Gwaine, he’ll never forgive himself. Leon was worthy at the very least, Gwaine drank too much. To lose to a pig was an under disgrace.

“Fine!” Arthur yelled to his hunting party. He tugged off his gear, his tunic, and then eventually his trousers. It was all a very frantic dance to rid himself of layers, he felt like an utter git. “Are you happy now?” he turned to ask his party, preparing himself to jump into the river.

“No pants, my lord?” Elyan asked in what could pass as a concerned tone, but Arthur could hear the snicker in his voice.

“Well- Aren’t you all naked as well?” Arthur stuttered, flushed as red as the day he was born.

“Even I have my pants on,” Gwaine grinned widely, floating on his back to prove his point. The man was wearing white cotton pants with pink sewn hearts. It was quite comedic if not for the fact that Arthur was standing butt naked in front of the man of his affections.

Arthur quickly grabbed his pants and stepped into them before struggling to jump into the river. He failed to properly jump due to searing eyes on him and belly flopped into the water instead. “Gah!” Arthur cursed under his breath, surfacing with a grimace. “The water’s so cold.”

“There’s no need to feel ashamed, my lord. Performance issues are normal for someone your age.”

“Stress and lack of usage I hear are big factors in the issue,” Merlin added, grinning at Arthur playfully.

“Shut it, Merlin.”

“I think you might be scaring all the fish away, Arthur. You would think that little shrimp of yours would attract more of them.”

Having enough of their rude jests, Arthur pushed his hand through the water and splashed the nearest men. That only awarded him with six grown men thrown into a water battle. It wasn’t fair that Percival was large enough to create a tidal wave of a splash or that Merlin could use his magic to protect himself and attack the others. So when he had ran for his own horse to wade through the water, it was all within the rules.

“Cheater!”

“Traitor!”

Arthur only laughed out loud, “The horses want to be a part of the fun as well!” He had quickly grabbed ahold of his clothes and putting them on with one hand was proving to be more difficult than it seemed. “Catch me if you can-” A strong gust of wind appeared out of the blue and knocked Arthur right back into the water, his horse swimming to the other side.

“What were you saying about fun, Arthur?” Merlin looked down at him, those blue grey eyes staring right at his heart. “Are you willing to play fair, now?” Merlin said in a whisper of a voice.

Arthur parted his mouth to speak, but Merlin took his breath away. This was the moment to tell him. To confess how much he needed Merlin in his life, wanted the man without hesitation. He would never give away his kingdom, but for Merlin…. For Merlin he would consider it. A kingdom was not one without its kings.

He could not place the exact moment he fell in love with Merlin, but he had always loved the fool. “I l-”

His horse on the other side of the river nighed in warning, the steed whining in fear. Bucking up on high legs, Arthur had to hold onto Merlin’s arm to steady himself. There on the shore was a beast he had never seen before. A bear as large as a house stood on four reptilian feet, the fur of the thing made from pure glistening metal. The creature had three sets of violet eyes and radiated heat like a furnace.

Before any of them could react the bear opened its maw to reveal dozens of rows upon rows of teeth. They were sharpened to a point, serrated edges that tore through the horse with a rigid form of fiery. In the blink of an eye, the horse was gone.

“Get back on your horses!” Arthur ordered his men, back stroking onto shore for his sword. “Prepare yourself!” A breeze brushed against his back, goosebumps littering his pale skin. His men were behind him, but Merlin, the bastard that he was, was in front of him. “Merlin, get your ass back here!” he yelled, gripping his sword in hand, chest and clothes soaked through.

“He’s starving!” Merlin shouted back as if that explained everything. The brunette’s lips were tinted blue, his pale skin a purple bruise from their earlier rough water fight. He looked so small then.

“Get back here before I drag you by your ear. You are not to engage!” Arthur threatened, quickly looking out of the corner of his eye to make sure the rest of his knights were alright. They all stood prepared to give their lives for the block headed wizard. Swords at the ready, amour and gear laid askew on the floor, chest bare. Their lives for the thief that stole Arthur’s heart.

“Don’t attack!” Merlin yelled back, wading towards the bear with vigor. His chest heaved with each breath labored by fear. “The poor thing is starving,” Merlin repeated, holding his hands out in a reassuring gesture.

“Merlin,” Arthur warned in a hushed voice, afraid that if he spoke any louder the creature would feel threatened. “Get back here, it's not safe you, utter git,” he hissed between his teeth, eyes darting between the two beasts

“I’ll live,” Merlin called back, eyes glowing light amber and gold.

“That’s what I’m worried about,” Lancelot muttered under his breath.

Merlin’s lips twitched upwards at the comment, “Make sure Arthur behaves if I’m gone.”

The mere implication of such a thing had the king of Camelot rushing forward. Arthur would die before having to live a day without Merlin. He was seeing red as he waded through the water, pulling the wizard behind him. “Never!” Arthur yelled louder than intended, the creature whipping its head at them.

“You bloody-” Merlin’s curse was shortened by the blood curdling roar that erupted like a volcano from the beast. It reeled back onto its two high legs, claws as long as Arthur’s arms slashing forward. The underbelly of the thing was made from thick places interwoven, almost as if it knew that was where Arthur was planning to strike.

“Bold of you to assume death could get you out of this relationship,” Arthur quipped before diving underwater.

“Relationship? If you think you could confess to me and then go off to get yourself killed, then I’ll kill you myself.”

“Hey, lovebirds! Have your lover’s quarrel after you’re not in immediate danger,” Gwaine shouted, joining Arthur underwater.

“All of you are going on a fool’s errand,” Merlin said exasperated, climbing onto shore. Leon and Elyan pulled him up with their free hands, pushing him behind them the moment he was on his feet. He rolled his eyes at this, absolutely done with his hunting party. Turning on his heel, he found his horse with all of their supplies. “The bear hasn’t eaten in days, have you seen the state of this forest?” Merlin pulled out a small sack of fruits and bread he had nabbed from the kitchen before running to meet Arthur.

The remaining knights looked onto him in concern, none of them completely used to the words and voice Merlin used when practicing magic. It was a low hiss of words, his eyes illuminated by liquid sunlight. If he weren't on their side, they would be slightly fearful of the wizard. Especially when he made the small sack fly through the air like a canon smelling of freshly baked yeast.

The bear whined low in its throat, the sound like gravel being thrown by the handful at glass windows. It caught the flying sack in between its rows of teeth, tearing through the thing thread by thread like it had the horse. Arthur was within attacking distance when the beast unhinged its maw and let put the most rancid burp.

Arthur and Gwaine fainted where they once stood. The creature lumbered away like it hadn’t just killed a member of their cavalry and scared them lifeless. Merlin swam across the river without hindrance, slapping both Arthur and Gwaine across the face the moment he touched shore. “You two better have a pulse or I’m feeding you to the bear,” Merlin threatened, feeling at their necks and wrists.

“Please, mercy,” Gwaine groaned, “The thing smells like my grandfather’s cooking.”

Merlin chuckled despite himself, the sound causing Arthur to stir. “This wasn’t supposed to happen,” the king murmured more to himself than to the rest of the party.

“Really? I would have never guessed. I assumed you had planned this all out, being killed by a beastly bear included. Was that not a part of your little list of Hells for Merlin?”

“This was supposed to be a date,” Arthur said instead, struggling to sit up properly. The smell of the beast lingered and Arthur could have thrown up. “I was supposed to impress you and confess.”

“Well call me impressed,” Merlin brushed Arthur’s hair out of his hair. It was soft to the touch, even riding in a forest for the whole day couldn’t ruin it. “But I’m planning the next date.”

“Next date?”

“Oh no, no, no, a concussion isn’t getting you out of this relationship,” Merlin shook his head with a grin and a gleam in his eyes.

“I don’t have a con- Ow!” Merlin smacked him over the head. “That hurt!”

“Really? It felt like I was just hitting rocks.”

“You can’t say that to me, Merlin. I’m your boyfriend.”

Merlin couldn’t hide the blush on his face and to be honest, he didn’t want to. “I say that because you’re my boyfriend. It's said with endearment, dear.” Arthur grinned at the pet name, Merlin returning the smile as he pulled the king close. Pressing their lips together should have been done ages ago, it was breathtaking. Merlin tasted of faint crisp apples, Arthur of something utterly his own.

Arthur tasted of something delicious, Merlin decided. And he was starving.

65 notes · View notes

diner-drama · 3 years ago

Text

Destiny (1/6)

I thought it would be really funny if, instead of finding out about Merlin's magic and having one episode to react, Arthur instead spent a whole season being an absolute prat about the whole thing. Here are some things I've imagined from this scenario, set in that magical period between Season 3 and 4 when the knights of the round table were running around being chaotic dumbasses and stealing chickens.

Chapter 1/6. 1373 words. Rated T. Also on AO3.

"Merlin," yelped Arthur, outraged and relieved in equal measure. "What on earth are you- Is this what you meant by powerful, ancient magic? You can make your eyes go sparkly and then fix people's clothing?"

Merlin stopped short and rubbed the back of his own neck awkwardly. "Among other things, yes."

"And you've been moping around all day about this?"

"You didn't believe me! I was baring my soul to you and you were so arrogant that you just-"

"You told me that you'd saved my life a hundred times with the mystical power of your warlock skills," said Arthur, wiggling his fingers as though casting a spell. "Not that you were hiding the ability to dress me more efficiently."

---

That Merlin and Prince Arthur were fighting was known throughout the whole of Camelot, not least because the sound of yelling echoed impressively though the acoustics of the ancient stone halls. What was less clear was what, precisely, they were fighting about.

The first sign that anything was wrong had been the eerie silence in the castle when the prince and his knights returned from a particularly hairy quest to deal with a nest of wyverns in a distant village. They'd been entirely successful in vanquishing the beasts, but neither Arthur nor Merlin had said a word for the entire ride home and hurried off to opposite ends of the building as soon as they were able.

"Is everything alright, my lord?" called Leon, knocking on the heavy, ornately carved door to the prince's bedchamber.

"Go away," bellowed Arthur.

"Are you sure you-" started Leon, stopping abruptly when something loud and heavy thumped against the door, clearly thrown with great force.

Merlin was also in a less-than-optimal mood.

"He didn't believe me, Gaius," he fumed, pacing around the physician's workshop and gesticulating furiously, hands knocking into the scrolls and books that littered the surfaces.

"I have to say, I am surprised at that," responded Gaius mildly, moving some of his more delicate equipment out of the way of Merlin's swinging arms. "You've done a terrible job of hiding your magic."

This elicited a smile and a reluctant laugh from the young sorcerer, and eventually he was persuaded to sit down and have some dinner, still complaining about Arthur with his mouth full.

"I mean, I'd only just saved his bloody life from that overgrown chicken thing."

"The wyvern?"

"Yes. It doesn't even breathe fire! I don't know why he couldn't just" - Merlin made a series of gestures that seemed to resemble stabbing something viciously with a sword - "and I wouldn't have had to do anything at all! This is all his fault."

"Why on earth did you have to tell him?" asked Gaius in wonderment, shaking his head.

"I didn't mean to! It just sort of slipped out when we were trying to get to the nest." Merlin poked moodily at his stew with his spoon. "I didn't think this was what I had to worry about when he found out about me," he said mournfully. "I thought he might have me beheaded or burned or something, but then he looked at me like I was insane. It was all 'this is stupid, Merlin', and 'don't be ridiculous, Merlin'."

"Don't you find that preferable to being burned at the stake?"

Merlin let out an incoherent noise of frustration. "If I'd known he would be such a mutton-faced prat about it, I would have set myself on fire and saved us all the bother."

Gaius, calling on his ancient and hard-won reserves of patience, took a deep breath and patted him on the shoulder. "Merlin, this is all completely new to him. You must give him time to form his own conclusions."

"How long is that going to take?" whined Merlin, dropping his head onto the table and groaning. "He'll need his life saving fifty times before his brain catches up."

"Go and get some sleep," Gaius instructed him, taking away his empty bowl and guiding him towards his bedroom. "I'm sure this will seem better in the morning."

Long after the sun had risen and all the palace staff had begun their day's work, Arthur thrust open the door to Gaius' workshop and raised his voice.

"Where is my useless manservant?" he bellowed.

Merlin, who was clearly enjoying having a bit of a lie-in and a private sulk, opened his bedroom door to glare at him.

"So you are alive," said Arthur, a brittle, uncertain undercurrent lurking below his usual teasing manner. Merlin looked rumpled and adorable, and not at all as though he were hiding a wealth of unearthly powers. "I had to get my own breakfast this morning - what is wrong with you?"

"You told me to get out of your sight," Merlin reminded him caustically.

"I didn't mean that you had the day off," he scoffed. "You'll do anything to get out of work, won't you? First you come up with this cock and bull story about being some kind of sorcerer, and now you're lazing around in bed - I mean, honestly, Merlin."

"I thought you didn't need my help," said Merlin haughtily. "Since you're so certain of my capabilities."

"What capabilities?"

"Exactly."

"I don't need your help," Arthur insisted, puffing out his chest. "I'm perfectly able to start the day on my own, but that doesn't mean you can shirk your duties."

"Your tunic's on backwards."

Arthur looked down at himself and decided to fly into a rage to cover up his embarrassment. "I can't be expected to notice insignificant details like that! I have a kingdom to run."

"No, you can't be expected to notice anything," sneered Merlin. "Even if it's right underneath your nose."

"Are we really still doing this?" sighed Arthur, turning his eyes to the heavens. "You're not a sorcerer, Merlin. You have neither the intelligence nor the subtlety to keep that from my notice. Now would you please stop being weird and attend to your prince?"

"Fine," yelled Merlin, entirely losing his patience and thrusting his hand in front of him, palm forward. "Arstafas stunt gierd," he hissed, his eyes glowing amber as he cast the spell.

Arthur's tunic righted itself while the prince looked down in amazement. With a self-satisfied smirk, Merlin re-laced the fastenings and tied them in a bow, weaving the magic from a distance with his fingers.

Merlin stopped short and rubbed the back of his own neck awkwardly. "Among other things, yes."

"And you've been moping around all day about this?"

"You didn't believe me! I was baring my soul to you and you were so arrogant that you just-"

"Do you have any idea of the topological complexity involved in-"

Arthur crossed the room to clap Merlin on the shoulder. "Look, Merlin, I'm sorry that I doubted you," he said in mock sincerity. "Clearly, if this is what you think a great sorcerer is, then you truly are one."

Merlin made a face, eyeing the hand on his arm uncertainly. "Aren't you worried that I'm going to be seduced by the dark forces of magic or something?"

"What would the dark forces of magic want with you? Unless they need their trousers fixing, I don't think we need to worry about that."

"So you're not going to..."

"Going to what?"

"Behead me?"

"Behead you? I've just found out that you're a slightly less incompetent manservant than I previously thought, of course I'm not going to behead you."

Merlin let out a relieved huff, grinning widely as Arthur ruffled his hair.

"However," Arthur continued, grabbing his servant suddenly by the scruff of the neck and enjoying his surprised whimper, "I do want to discourage you from keeping little secrets from me again, so I think some kind of punishment is in order, don't you?"

"No, actually, I-"

"I'm glad you agree," he continued smoothly, dragging Merlin towards the door. "I think all of the knights have armour that needs polishing, and I know that there's a whole pile of dirty laundry waiting for you in my chambers."

"Would you like me to lick your boots clean, too?" grumbled Merlin, stumbling forwards a few steps into the corridor as Arthur released him.

Arthur screwed up his face. "Don't be an idiot, Merlin. Saliva is terrible for leather. Oh, and Merlin?"

"Yes, sire?"

"I hope it goes without saying that this all needs to be done by hand. I don't want to catch you using any... shortcuts."

"Of course, sire. Wouldn't dream of it."

#merthur #merlin #I know I'm 10 years too late to this fandom #I'm doing this anyway

11 notes · View notes

where-dreamers-go · 4 years ago

Text

Merlin x fem!Reader (Soulmate AU Part 2) (Text reupload)

(A/N: Hey, reuploaded this so that it’s not an external link. Part One here.

Warnings: angst, fluff, romance.

Word Count: 4,709 words )

Camelot was in a time of peace. Soulmates were encouraged to be together and see one another without issue from stature. In Camelot’s past and in other kingdoms there was a sensitivity when it came to soulmates. Drama and angst were a given. Heartbreak and rendezvous were kept secret. It was still common, even back then, to keep one’s soulmate mark hidden for fear of talk and hidden agendas. Though times were changing the tradition was still held by most families.

Your family was no different aside from most family members knowing almost exactly what one another’s soulmate mark looked like. Most of the information you held about soulmates and what happened after they met one another was heard from those closest to you. Little bits of information here and there. Yet it was always stressed how it would be one of if not the strongest connection one could ever experience. A connection so strong that most could not fathom the entirety of it all.

You would gladly face that challenge.

On a cool afternoon, you and Merlin were to find out that apparently being separated for a long period of time wasn’t always an option.

At first it was the tugging, the usual but so much more of an intense pull towards one’s soulmate. Yet if one spent too much time away from their soulmate and it nagged into one’s mind long enough, it felt as if one was being pulled by their inner chest. It was almost to the point of having trouble breathing.

No one had cared to mention those details. Then again you had only met your soulmate a handful of days ago.

So there you sat on your legs, three days after meeting your soulmate and bent over a barrel full of soapy water with half-washed bedsheets.

Having been entrusted with knowing that he had magic there was an added weight upon your shoulders. Not to mention a lingering worry in your heart. Your soulmate was always with King Arthur and the knights of the round table. Not to forget that he never wore armor nor chainmail to protect himself while going out on hunts. Or worse. You only knew of a small amount of stories Merlin had told you recently. Those stories kept getting riskier and more dangerous in their descriptions of what had to be done. You started understanding Gaius’ behavior towards the young man. You just dearly hoped he didn’t have to do anything of that again or soon.

Everything was per usual, collecting used bedsheets from the rooms of the castle and going downstairs to clean them. Not what you’d call fun, but it was fine. You had not run into trouble in the tasks before, however your life had changed a lot recently. Regardless, you had been left to your own devices in the vast room with your mind wandering. It hadn’t taken long until you were hoping that Merlin wasn’t too busy and that the King was taking time off from teasing him.

Once you thought about it, you dearly hoped that Merlin was alright.

Images of Merlin running through a dark, moldy, and soldier-filled castle wasn’t the best to be filling your mind’s eye. No armor and unfamiliar halls added to the picture. Worry, fear, and anxiety rolled through your being in moments.

An uncharacteristic pull in your center drew you back to the present.

“Ah!” You squeezed your eyes shut, hoping for the pulling to pass. Even the burning of your mark when you were about to meet Merlin wasn’t nearly this intrusive.

There was work to be done.

Hitting your fist against the barrel was a fruitless attempt to get your mind off of the pull. Your teeth ground together uncomfortably as you avoided biting your tongue. Even then, breathing through your nose was difficult still.

Another pull drew out a painful gasp from you.

The rapid sounds of boots hitting the floors outside gained the attention of your ears at the last second. They only became clearer and louder as you focused on your breathing.

“(Y/N)!”

Merlin rushed into the room. Nothing had a chance to become an obstacle as he made his way straight to you. In a moment he was pulling you away from the barrel and into his embrace for much needed contact.

Relief hit you like a gust of wind. Your chest felt lighter and your airways clear.

“Are you alright?” Merlin huffed, blowing some strands of your hair out of place.

“Yes. Now I am,” you allowed yourself to lean into him. “Thank you.”

It was much easier to breath for the both of you.

Merlin silently thanked the Universe that he had made it to you before anything serious happened. One of his hands cradled your head to his neck. Warmth and safety shared.

“Are you alright?” Your fingers meandered across the back of his shirt.

He swallowed, “I’m fine. You had me worried. What happened?”

“I-I...I don’t know. Thinking about you as I was washing those sheets. I was just worrying. Perhaps more than I thought I was.”

To Merlin, he knew you were having those feelings and he detected your fear. He felt the tug to be near you. It was very apparent. Something that he could not ignore. One that he didn’t.

“Do you think it was because we were apart?” You murmured.

One of his hands stroked your side as your breathing gradually started evening out. All the while your hands rubbed the texture of Merlin’s blue shirt between your fingers for added reassurance.

“We should ask Gaius.” Merlin piped up. “He might know more about what happened.”

“Should we go now?”

“Yes, now.” He pulled back to look at you. “The chores can wait.”

Walking into what was turning into your new home, the pair of you found Gaius standing behind one of his work tables.

“Gaius.” Merlin quickly made his way over to his mentor, his hand still clasped with yours.

“What’s the matter?”

Eyebrows knitted together as he visibly braced himself for whatever Merlin had to relay to him.

“I felt an growing sense of worry and fear that wasn’t my own and then there was this very persistent pull. My first thought was to find her and she was in a worse state than I was, but we were fine once we were together.”

Letting out a breath of air, the older man looked relieved.

That made you wonder again what he could imagine Merlin getting into. You decided against imagining anything else at the moment.

Merlin waited patiently despite the questioning look in his eyes.

“You perceived her feelings, correct?”

“Yes,” Merlin nodded.

“Alright. (Y/N), you felt distressed?”

“Yes.” You answered with slight growing suspicion.

“The pair of you are still fresh in meeting one another, however there could be other factors to what just happened.”

“Like what?” You questioned.

“The time allowed....or rather the time you can both stand being physically apart may depend on how one of you is feeling. Some days you might need the other more than the day before.”

“So if Merlin was in trouble....I would know?”

“Why do I have to be in trouble?”

“I’ve taken the privilege of telling (Y/N) about some of your shenanigans.” Gaius raised his eyebrows at the young man. “But, yes, I think either one of you would know when to find the other.”

“Sounds handy,” you mused. “But I could do without the intensity of it all if one of us was not in any real trouble.”

Merlin rubbed a hand over your back in circular motions.

“So it all varies depending on us? That’s all?” You pressed further.

“That is the general idea,” Gaius answered. “Which was why I recommend that you both....sleep near one another. For the time being.”

Both your eyebrows and Merlin’s shot up in response.

“We’ll move the cot into Merlin’s room for now. Then we will see if that will help until you two are more accustomed to being soulmates.”

. . .

On the first day you had met Merlin, you had learned more than a handful of knowledge about Camelot than you had your entire first week of living there, especially when it was just you and Merlin in his room. You couldn’t help but to ask Merlin what happened to between Arthur and Guinevere that Gaius was referring to when they found out. Evidently, they had gone through a lot. Especially being they didn’t know what the burning and such of their marks meant when neither mentioned it to the other. Your soulmate didn’t spare on details that he had of the pairs ups and downs, many of which he was a part of. Then again he had plenty of stories to tell you later.

By the time dinner had long ended, you were about to return home when you were told otherwise. You stayed the night. It was much to your surprise and Merlin’s when Gaius highly advised it. The older man did not hide the fact that staying in your home for the night wouldn’t be wise when you hadn’t spent much time with Merlin, your soulmate. Something about it being healthier for you and giving you peace of mind in the long run. The Court Physician promised to let you both know when you would be able to sleep in your own home without worry.

Close proximity was in mind. However, you had never heard of such recommendation even from your family. Perhaps you were missing something.

You figured the older man knew much more than he let others have knowledge of. Also being that it was a rather strange and personal request to have you and Merlin stay together. Even Merlin found it a bit odd. It raised more questions for the pair of you.

Then again, Gaius did have restrictions set up. Meaning they had set up a cot for you in their small physician’s home. One that they hid with a folded room divider. Although Merlin had offered you to take his bed, you declined much to his many counter arguments.

That night your mind whirled with memories and feelings stuck with you. It was still freshly thrilling to have met your soulmate. That and to feel such unconditional love and acceptance. The two of you had barely met yet it was as if you had known him forever.

By morning it felt completely normal. Felt as it should be. Neither of you wanted to go to work at all.

It was only through motivation and Gaius’ warnings that the pair of you went to work.

. . .

The armory of Camelot. The ever present scent of metal and the slight lingering smell of perspiration. Putting away training equipment was of course left up to Merlin.

He spent most of time thinking about his soulmate rather than his next chore. That was neither a surprise nor a problem for the sorcerer. Merlin had spent numerous moments alone wondering what it would be like to meet his soulmate. Being as he had past such an achievement in one’s life, he happily indulged himself in thoughts of you.

Even in the short time he knew you there were flutters and warmth inside of him when simply gazed over at you. Every morning he awoke, you were the first to cross his mind. When he’d see Arthur and Gwen walking together, he’d remember the softness of your hands. Each step on a stairway caused him to smile as he was reminded of how he finally met you. The one he cherished and would cherish every day of his life.

Merlin could not wait to learn more about you and in turn could not wait to fall further into his relationship with you. Every sunrise and each sunset was another day to share and experience life.

He paused in his actions at the feeling or perhaps sensing that you were nearby. Merlin peered over at the doorway, waiting for any movement.

An infectious grin appeared on his face once he saw you enter the space.

You both greeted each other with wide grins and a welcoming hug of warmth.

“What are you doing here? I mean of all places, (Y/N).”

“I just wanted to see you.”

Fingers lightly traced patterns on the other’s hands. Grins turned to smiles and the armory was the last thing on Merlin’s mind.

He kissed your forehead.

“Merlin, why do you have dirt on your face?” You reached a hand up and attempted to rub it off. “You didn’t take a nap outside while Arthur was training did you?” You teased.

“No.”

Like clockwork, Merlin let out a yawn. He mentally cursed.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have stayed up talking so long,” you pursed your lips.

“Maybe, but I enjoyed it.”

“Even the part where I woke you up by poking your leg?”

“That was my favorite part.”

“Was not,” you laughed.

You removed the rest of the smudge on Merlin’s face and poked his side.

Again, he kissed your head.

Merlin adored you and each second spent with you. He wondered how many more days Gaius would recommend you staying in his room. It wasn’t that he minded at all, however he felt as if there was something he wasn’t quite understanding from Gaius’ end.

. . .

Prior to your little scare while washing dirty laundry, you had other types of startling moments, but the good kinds. Thank goodness. For your soulmate Merlin had always seemed to slip in out of nowhere to greet you with a hug and a kiss on the temple. Sounded cute enough, however he could literally be silent upon approach.

Less than scary, but a little unsure was during the first morning of knowing you were soulmates. Merlin had formally introduced you to the knights which was practically an event in itself. Those who were closest to him either hugged you or took your hand in a short ‘hello’. The support and happiness was enough to ease your mind in knowing that you weren’t able to tell your family in person. The knights beaming at the sight of you and Merlin hand in hand could brighten any day.

Even though you had been in Camelot for some time already, realizing you were soulmates with Merlin opened up a whole new world of friendships. One of those being Gaius who had welcomed you in with a smile and open arms. Not to forget his advice that you didn’t mind receiving, he was the Court Physician after all. In time you’d grow to have even more people to rely upon.

. . .

Perhaps two hours since you last saw Merlin and you had eaten a noon meal, you were returning to your chores with a large empty basket in hand. Working inside of a castle seemed to be just as much work as up-keeping the farms and such back home.

As you passed by another castle servant you smiled. Some had already found out that you and Merlin were soulmates. The kitchen cook gave her condolences.

Even with Merlin’s friends quite excited about him finding his soulmate, you and Merlin still had to keep their soulmate marks secret. A flying golden dragon was a common mark. Too dangerous and risky to let anyone know. Added that it wasn’t proper to be walking around and showing off your soulmate mark. Even if there were those bold and curious enough to ask what it was.

Glad that you weren’t lugging around another hefty load was an added perk to your already fine day. That was until you were spooked.

You were walking down a long stretch of hall in the castle when your wrist was abruptly grasped and you were pulled between a wall’s indent, hidden from view.

“Merlin.” Your tone was stuck between a scolding and relief.

“Hello (Y/N),” your soulmate tucked you into his embrace.

“You startled me.”

“I’m sorry,” Merlin ducked his head to be hidden in the crook of your neck.

Humming a little, you dropped the empty basket at your feet in exchange for clasping your hands behind his back and keeping him close.

It was such instances that made you realize how much you enjoyed affection.

When Merlin held you, you felt both grounded and weightless in your presence. It was something you shared mutually. A closeness you both craved no matter the distance.

The whole world seemed to quiet and light up all at once while in the little hideaway you both had created.

To be frank, you were a little surprised how Merlin was able to get away for a moment. Even in the short time knowing each other, you had come to realize just how much work Merlin had for himself each day. Between keeping his true nature and self a secret while protecting Arthur, Camelot, all the people he cared for; chores for Gaius, and chores from Arthur; it was a wonder he didn’t pass out from sleep exhaustion. Apparently, as you learned, Merlin was use to it. You came to understand exactly why he had literally flopped onto his bed on more than one occasion. You’d never laughed at the action since then.

Of course you had your own job as a servant in Camelot’s castle; something Queen Guinevere was happy to hear because that meant you’d be close enough to Merlin. It was something that the King and Queen of Camelot had discussed shortly after Arthur had found Merlin with you surrounded by a mess of laundry on the floor. The couple wanted to make certain that you wouldn’t be too far from Merlin. They cared <i>a lot</i> about their friend.

No matter what happened or what you did, at the end of the day you were with your soulmate, Merlin. Safe, warm, and happy together.

Interestingly enough, during one of your nights together, you had heard from Merlin that Arthur and Gwen had swirl marks behind their left ears. His story even lead to him telling you how Gwen had discovered Arthur’s mark first when the pair were having secret meetings together.

You quite enjoyed listening to Merlin’s stories late at night when he could tell you ones no one else knew about. Your favorites so far were how he met his friends and some really funny stunts he had witnessed. Most of which so far involved Gwaine and Merlin’s involvement one way or another.

It wasn’t every day that you could talk so openly with someone you truly connected with.

. . .

Almost two weeks had passed since you had met and a little less than a week since Gaius had deemed it safe for you to stay in your own home at night. A certain someone walked you home at night and left after a long embrace.

Merlin was missing your company. It didn’t take much for you to know. Despite both feeling the same Merlin knew that you did have your own home to upkeep. Added that you were both strong enough to spend some time away from one another even if neither of you actually wanted to. Merlin counted himself lucky that he didn’t have to find excuses to be with you longer those first few days. The other nights that followed seemed almost extra and not singularly necessary as foretold.

However, questions always arose in the sorcerer’s mind referring to Gaius’ decisions. It wasn’t until the first night you were sleeping back in your own home that through a stare down and a serious expression at the dining table that Merlin was able to get Gaius to tell him another reason why you were kept under their care for well over two nights.

“Because I wanted to make sure there weren’t any....side effects.”

“What kind exactly, Gaius?”

“The magical kind. You are powerful, Merlin and there is no one out there like you. I had to make sure that your--(Y/N) didn’t suffer any sudden side effects because of being away from you too soon. All soulmates are effected differently. I wasn’t about to have her out alone and frightened when she would be safe with you. It’s one thing to have soulmates separated just after meeting one another and showing an emotion uncontrollably. It’s a completely different story when one of the soulmate’s is a powerful sorcerer.”

“You were afraid that (Y/N) would unconsciously use magic.”

“I was. There’s no telling what your connection could lead to, Merlin.”

“I know that it will be something great. I believe that.”

It was afternoon, the sun shining bright high above and a light breeze in the air. Merlin had everything planned; giving Arthur and Guinevere their afternoon meals to carrying specific supplies out of the castle without you spotting him. He was a little too good at that.

The sorcerer had asked you earlier to meet him in a specific spot outside. He had even marked the location with a small scrap of dark blue fabric on a low tree branch. Just in case.

Arriving at the designated location, his heart was pumping faster the closer he was to your form. Sometimes he found it hard to breathe, to focus on something so simple. If he thought too deep about how all of it was real, tangible, you were in his life.

You turned around to face him before any words were able to leave his mouth.

“Merlin,” you beamed and he felt his heart contract.

His eyes taking in how the afternoon light fanned over your features nicely, distractingly. As you walked up to him, he felt more aware of life the closer you were.

“(Y/N),” Merlin finally found it in himself to speak.

You both hugged each other. Feelings of glee, excitement, and minimum anxiety were perceived between you both.

“So what are we doing out here exactly?” You inquired, eyes all alight.

“It’s a little surprise.”

“Little? I’ve found you’re not the kind to have ‘little surprises’ in your life.”

“That’s fair.” Merlin stated before taking a step back to bow and offer you his hand. “Shall we?”

“We shall,” you grinned as giddiness had overtaken you.

Happily, you accepted his hand and allowed him to lead you passed more trees basking in the daylight.

After a little bit of walking, you both came to a quiet spot where a blanket and a small basket was laid out. He lead you straight there.

“When did you have time to do this?” You asked.

“Oh, that part’s a secret.”

You laughed lightly as you both sat down atop of the fabric.

Merlin had really gone out of his way for this.

Would he always have surprises up his sleeve?

Surrounded by nature and positive energy the two of you ate snacks, talked, and more than enjoyed the other’s company. You took a couple of opportunities to steal glances at Merlin when he wasn’t looking. It was more of a challenge than it sounded. It wasn’t long until your curiosity about his magic reappeared. Given that you were both alone it seemed safe enough to ask him.

“So...I know that you can make flowers just appear in your hands, but can you move things or is it just elements? Plants?” You asked, gazing up at him from your lounging position.

“I can do a lot more than grow plants.”

“You can move rocks?”

“Yes,” Merlin answered, finding your phrasing amusing. “I can control parts of weather, stop something or someone from falling, lite fires, and help cure people. Some of which are from spells.”

Mouth agape, you stared at your soulmate.

“Stopping a bucket of water from spilling. Lightning once, but I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Lightning? That’s...that’s frightening, but...it is natural. The power of nature. I guess it isn’t so different than stopping water midair. Then again, I can’t really picture you using lightning or conjuring it? What I mean is that....how can it or you be actually frightening if you were using me to stay warm the other night when you were walking me home?”

“True,” Merlin ducked his head a bit.

“It isn’t scary at all. Just different.”

Blue eyes glanced back to you.

“It’s a good thing I really like different.”

Crinkles were visible by his eyes as he chuckled. Deep and airy all at once.

You adored every crease and every happy sound he emitted. Knowing that you had years to learn and love his quirks and charms filled your heart with an added zing. To have a life intertwined with someone such as Merlin was everything you needed and everything you hadn’t expected.

Birds chirped and communicated nearby as you and Merlin continued relaxing underneath the shade of trees. The soft hum of nature and her energies set the perfect balance for your picnic date.

A raise of your hand and you were poking a finger where you knew Merlin’s mark rested behind his shirt. A golden shape of a dragon hidden from view.

Your lips pressed together tightly as he gently took ahold of your hand and pressed your open palm over his chest. Internally, you sensed the mixtures of strong emotions he was experiencing. All centered around you. The joy, the compassion, and the ever expanding yearning.

You released a breath you had only became aware that you were withholding. In the back of your mind you knew that Merlin wanted to share more with you. Not knowing exactly what yet sensing you might any second caused your heart rate to rise. You were certain he noticed.

Merlin lowered himself further onto the blanket and held himself up on an elbow. The natural light appearing from between the leaves above added extra blue shades to his already cerulean eyes.

With a light touch, Merlin brushed back some of your hair away from your face, his eyes memorizing each small detail of your bright eyes. In a fraction of a moment his gaze slipped lower. Slowly, however steady without an ounce of hesitation his lips greeted yours with a gentle caress. Sensitive and aware, he pushed no further.

As you reciprocated you felt his lips morph into a small smile. It was then that you truly felt his heartbeat underneath your palm.

The kiss was a blissful moment seeming to suspend time. In midst of it all you encountered a weightless, bright, and inviting feeling. What it was exactly, you weren’t sure of its name. Whatever the feeling was you did not want to part from it.

“I love you, Merlin,” you murmured as his forehead rested on your own.

You could feel a golden heat radiating from him as he grinned, the skin crinkling beside his eyes dearly.

“I love you, (Y/N).” Merlin declared, pulling you closer and into his arms. “I love you so much.”

The sorcerer never wanted to let you go. Every touch, every word, and every breath of air felt right. He wanted to live in this moment of pure happiness forever. To see you smile and feel the warmth of your skin.

He adored you. He cared and cherished you. The sorcerer’s heart could burst with the sheer amount of love he had for you.

Love.

Merlin knew what it was, he knew what it meant. That golden feeling.

Love wasn’t new for him, but this love. This love that he had reserved for you was entirely different. It consumed him in the best way he could ever imagine. It was the kind of love that could build kingdoms, soar over mountains, and dive into the deepest trenches of the ocean. A type of love that could overcome and conquer anything while bringing light with each new day.

That was the love Merlin had for you.

#BBC Merlin x Reader #Merlin x fem!Reader #Merlin x Reader #soulmate au #BBC Merlin fanfiction #Merlin #where dreamers go

118 notes · View notes

little-ligi · 4 years ago

Text

The Sorcerers’ Guild – Quest 1 – Adiós Avalon

Hey hey! I didn’t manage to finish day 6 today, but I did write day 2 which I missed the other day so... Have some more vulnerable Arthur being scared by strange modern noises. (Hopefully I’ll manage to finish days 6 and 7 tomorrow...)

Day 2 – “I’m here.” “What took you so long?”

Merlin took another sip of tea, tapping away at his laptop. He was trying to get some work done before Arthur woke up. He nodded his head in time with the music in his headphones and drummed his fingers to the beat. It was only in the lull between two songs that he heard shouting coming from the bedroom.

He ripped the headphones off, being met with Arthur’s increasingly distressed voice. Pushing his chair back so violently it tipped over, Merlin scrambled to his feet, almost falling over the upturned chair’s leg. He stumbled away from the chair and dashed to the bedroom.

Arthur was sitting up in bed, pressed against the headboard, his knees pulled to his chest and his face buried into them, his hands over his ears. He didn’t notice Merlin’s entrance and kept shouting for him. Merlin climbed onto the bed beside him and put his hands on Arthur’s shaking shoulders. Arthur jumped and looked up.

“I’m here,” Merlin soothed, gently prising Arthur’s hands away from his ears.

“What took you so long?” Arthur demanded gruffly, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you calling. I had headphones on.”

“You had what?”

“Headphones” – he cupped his hands over his ears in demonstration – “to listen to music… never mind.” He shook his head and rubbed Arthur’s back. “What’s the matter?”

Arthur gulped and glanced over at the window. “There were sounds, they woke me. And they keep happening…”

“What kind of sounds?” Merlin asked softly.

“Loud, thudding, like horse’s hooves but –” Arthur cut off, his head whipping around to face the window again, his eyes wide and jaw clenched.

Merlin tilted his head to the side and strained his ears. Sure enough, a second later he caught the unmistakable sound of an approaching helicopter. The thrumming thud-thud-thud of the rotary blades overlaying the deep whining roar of the engines.

Arthur tensed and leant into Merlin as the sound got louder and louder.

“That noise,” he said through gritted teeth, trying not to look as scared as he clearly was. The sound roared as the helicopter passed over the house then began dying down again as it moved away.

“It’s the RAF helicopters,” Merlin explained, patting Arthur’s back as he spoke. “There’s an RAF base just down the road so you can hear whenever they do training exercises.”

“Training exercises?” Arthur latched onto the words he understood.

“The RAF is part of the military. Like… sort of like knights… but flying in helicopters…” Merlin trailed off, giving Arthur an apologetic grin.

“Like knights?” Arthur repeated hopefully, looked a bit less worried. Then his eyebrows creased. “Flying? On… heli– is that a, a creature…? Like a dragon or something?”

Merlin had to bite his lip so as not to laugh at the look on Arthur’s face. He could just imagine what was going through Arthur’s head; the Round Table knights, all astride dragons and brandishing their swords. He snorted at that thought, pressing his knuckles to his mouth to hold back the laughter.

“No,” he managed once he’d squashed the giggle and Arthur was glaring at him. “Helicopters are flying machines. Sort of like cars… but they fly…”

Merlin had been slowly trying to get Arthur used to the idea of the car; he’d got him to sit in it, once, but as soon as he’d turned the engine on Arthur had balked, fighting with the seatbelt and door until he fell unceremoniously out of the car onto the driveway. And he seemed to like the idea of helicopters even less, judging by the absolute horror on his face.

There was the rumbling of another helicopter from outside and Arthur subconsciously curled further into Merlin arms, his hands pressing into his ears again.

“I don’t like the noise,” he muttered.

“I know, I’m sorry,” Merlin said, his heart tugging at Arthur’s vulnerability. He hugged Arthur tight until the helicopter had passed, then got up from the bed and held a hand out to him. “Come with me.”

Reluctantly, Arthur slid from the bed and followed Merlin into the living room where Merlin gently pushed him down onto the sofa. He retrieved his headphones and laptop from the desk, righting the chair he’d knocked over earlier, then went to perch on the coffee table in front of Arthur.

“The thingies…?” Arthur asked, pointing to the headphones and copying the gesture Merlin had made with his hands cupped over his ears.

“Headphones, yep.” He reached forwards and slipped the headphones onto Arthur’s head.

Arthur had gone very tense again, but he watched as Merlin opened up a new tab on his laptop and did a quick search before selecting some medieval music played on lute and dulcimer. Merlin looked up expectantly at Arthur.

Arthur startled and his hands went up to grasp at the headphones, but he didn’t take them off and after a few moments a smile spread across his face. He grinned at Merlin, who grinned back, shifting across onto the sofa beside Arthur and pulling his laptop onto his lap to finish his work. Arthur let his head tip onto Merlin’s shoulder, even as his hands began to tap his knees in time with the music.

And when another helicopter flew over the house a couple of minutes later, Arthur didn’t even blink.

#bbc merlin fanfiction #merlin fanfic #merthur #resurrected arthur pendragon #ligi writes #sorcerer's guild #adios avalon #day 2 #i live right by a raf base #we get helicopters over us all the time #i actually quite like the sound #but then i'm not from medieval era

29 notes · View notes

feelitstillmp3 · 4 years ago

Text

i was going to dump this into @time-and-space‘s inbox, but then it spiraled out of control and became super long. so im making it into a post. heres some thinking abt doctor who/torchwood/class/merlin parallels ! (specifically abt the parallels between tenrose/janto/charlie x matteusz/merthur) (keep in mind that my knowledge on merlin is not so good) (also feel free to correct me if im wrong or add anything on) (also this contains spoilers for ... all the shows. pls watch them, theyre good)

ive been thinking about the whole theme between charlie and matteusz where theyre like ?? scared to lose each other ?? and how it totally parallels to the other things like .... we have one character whos different and immortal and alien (not to mention the trauma they've been through-), but another who is supposedly "normal" and human. so, they work with it right ?

but then theres the ever-present danger of what they have to go through daily, and the fear that its going to leave them alone. i mean, they've already been left alone, but now that they've actually fallen in love, its different. its harder now.

consider the following lines:

"i think of it every day, and the only thing that stops me is you." (class, e6)

"i take it all back, but not him!"(torchwood, s3e4) (theres probably a better quote but no think, head empty)

"i could save everyone, but lose you." (doctor who, uhhh idk but i swear the doctor said something like it at some point, pls correct me if im wrong)

and yes, theyve felt this before, the pain of their entire race being wiped out, no one left but them, and everyone seems to leave them in the end. but for one second, they stop and actually think they have a chance for a while. someone who might stay.

ALSO it works as like .... the normal person is scared of the other, scared of what they can do and how they are ....

consider the following lines:

"im afraid of who you are, of what you're capable of, of what you will do" (class e6)

"you like to think you're a hero, but you're the biggest monster of all." (s1e4)

"what about you, doctor? what the hell are you changing into?" (doctor who, s1e6)

the person who has been through so much is capable of doing so many things, and sometimes it scares the other one. but they witnessed genocide ! and theyre probably traumatized over it ! theyve probably done some terrible shit as a result of it ! both of them are so valid in being that way.

and another parallel i have just thought of, mentioned a lot already, but the recurring theme of killing off an entire race and how that affected the alien character ....

consider the following situations:

doctor who - the time war, in which the doctor participated, and eventually ended. // when 9 was planning to kill off the last of the daleks in the parting of ways, hesitating for a bit, knowing that it would end up destroying earth in the process, making them no better than what the daleks are

torchwood - jack's planet and how it got invaded, how his parents died as a result and why his brother did everything that happened in exit wounds. // ummm i think maybe how willingly jack was able to give the girl up to the fairies to save the human race, like hes seen what the fairies are capable of, hes seen what disasters mass murder can bring. he doesnt want to see it again.

class - well, the shadowkin invasion, both on rhodia and when it happens on earth (both times) but also the invasion with the flowers ? // how much he really wants to just kill the shadowkin like ! he even mentioned it once ("i want to murder the shadowkin. every last one ...." e6) and he just wants to do it out of revenge. but “we shouldnt avenge genocide with genocide” (we're not going to talk abt how the only thing stopping him is that he would lose matteusz in the process)

but yeah ! theyve seen first hand what it like, and when prompted to do the same thing themselves, they end up hesitating, eventually choosing the other option instead. (well... except charlie. he does it once at least.)

and finally, immortality. this ties in a lot w my first point abt losing the other person .....

doctor who - pretty easy to think about, the doctor has had so many companions over the years, and each time they end up leaving them. even after he meets rose, who wished to stay together forever ("how long are you gonna stay with me?" "forever.") but then she ends up leaving, the doctor is left to continue on for so much longer ..

torchwood - pretty same as above, jack never commits himself to a relationship, he knows everyone will leave him anyway. but then he meets ianto jones. and it all changes, he falls in love, which he said he would never do, and thats why he doesnt ever say "i love you," because once he says it then he cant deny it any longer. once he says it than he will have to admit that ianto, someone that he does love, is lost to him.

class - ok, charlie isnt technically immortal from what i know, but i am assuming he probably has a longer lifespan than humans (basing this off this line - "you want to know who would be the last one standing out of the five of us? i would." e6) so ! its mentioned a lot (and is the main theme, as i said earlier) that matteusz and charlie dont want to lose each other. i want to specifically point out the line “every day i think, please dont go where i cant follow.” (e8) because it just so implies that charlie is different. he can go places, live longer than matteusz ever can.

going to add this onto the end here, but i just thought that actually merlin kinda fits into this too !

loss - the loss of his father, of his one childhood friend (will?), the knights of the round table (pretty sure a lot of them die too, correct me if im wrong) and even arthur who leaves in the end. everyone around him just seems to leave or turn bad

fear - we all know merlin is powerful, right ? i mean i swear it says somewhere hes like ... the greatest sorcerer to ever live or smth. and yes, arthur doesnt technically fear him, but if we think about what would have happened if merlin revealed his magic earlier, when camelot was still under the rule of uther and arthur was still scared of ppl w magic .... idk abt this one ndjnsjd it works in my head okay

trauma - had to get some help from @a-confused-contradictory-mess here and she brought up some good points ! when he was younger, because of his magic, he never really fit in. his mother made him hide, because she feared what would happen if he found out. (i ... think?) imagine what that does to someone, having to hide something about yourself for so long.

immortality - after everyone leaves around him, theres kinda no escape. he has to live with it for all the years that his immortal life goes by. this ties in a lot w how jack and the doctor feel, with everyone around them making them left all alone.

tldr: losing the one person they always thought would stay, one being scared of the other's power, the trauma affecting one of them, immortality and the price that comes w it are all some really good parallels between these ships/shows and genuinely kill me inside

#no good content only incoherent ramblings #none of this makes sense !#i am fully aware #doctor who #torchwood #bbc class #merlin #yes theres probably only a few ppl out there who have watched all 4 shows but i am posting this anyway #it took me three hours #and for what #i am probably going to end up making a gifset of this .... we'll see

47 notes · View notes

up-in-my-bunghole · 4 years ago

Text

Dear writers of BBC’s Merlin:

It would be such a pleasure if you would just grow the fuck up and deal with the romantic and sexual tension you’ve created between Merlin and Arthur and just let them be gay for each other, you cowards.

Here’s some ideas to spice up the show with some Merthur content:

Merlin loses control of his magic after losing a great deal (probably a loved one) and he makes an explosion of destructive magic around him in his distress and he can’t calm it back down again. People try to approach him but they only end up flung aside, and they have no idea how to handle him. Until Arthur comes in, and he starts to walk toward Merlin successfully. Everyone sits silent as they watch, Arthur only focused on his friend as he comes face to face with his golden eyes and blue sparks of heat (I imagine an electric blowout). Slowly, Arthur talks to him in a way that only he can do, actually being sincere and gentle with his words (although a few jabs slip, it doesn’t hurt Merlin’s feelings or make it worse, bc that’s just who Arthur is). He reaches out and takes his hand, feeling the prickle of sparks in his palm, but Merlin starts to settle with his presence, the glow in his eyes flickering ever so slightly. Eventually, Arthur comes in to hug him and bring him down all the way, and Merlin is back to normal.

Another magic one would be when Arthur is surrounded and has no hope for survival against his enemies, but Merlin stands in front of him just as they unleash their forces and deflects them all with a blast wave of pure power. He picks them off one by one, ruthlessly to save his king. After no one else is left standing or breathing in front of Merlin, he turns around to see Arthur completely blown away with a dismal “wow” and he gets up to kiss him as his reward.

A scene where Merlin and Arthur stand together at the final battle, gazing into the eye of the storm and knowing the chance that they will live to tell the tale is near impossible. With their last moments of solemnity, they link their hands, lean their foreheads together, and say their last goodbyes before they charge out into war.

For the past few days, Merlin has been getting these mystical pains (like a headache or some magical shit like that), and it’s been hindering him from completing his duties. Arthur notices it and bashes him for it, calling him a wimp and a girl. Merlin has a snarky remark to throw back in the beginning, but soon he doesn’t have the energy to respond. Over the days, he becomes more and more reclusive, and although Arthur notices, he doesn’t let up from his chores. Until one day, when he’s yelling at Merlin about the state of his bed chambers, Merlin yells out in delirious pain and then collapses with it, crying out in agony before passing out. Gaius is called to see him and he discovers that he has an inflammation of his meninges (the jello around the brain) ((or some other illness like that)) and Arthur finally realizes all the harm he’s done and how far he pushes Merlin. Once he recovers, Arthur apologizes and makes up for his shit behavior.

After all of Merlin’s rough battles and adventures and losses, Arthur is once again being a stick up his ass and walloping him about petty shit when Merlin has had enough. He snaps. Instead of taking all of Arthur’s insulting nagging, he fights back this time. Merlin is thrashing out at him, yelling and clawing with a fury in his eyes that almost flashes gold as he spills with rage. He lets go of all of it, all of the strife and pain and anger and loss. Hot, burning tears scald his cheeks, and he burns with them. Once it’s all out, once his tears can no longer pour and his voice has gone raw, he stuffs it back up, turns away from Arthur, and leaves him in his bedchamber with a stiff goodbye. All night, Arthur lays awake with Merlin’s voice in his head, haunted by his profound suffering that he was barely aware of. The next day, when Merlin silently serves his breakfast and starts to straighten up his linens, he whispers and ‘I’m sorry’ just behind him. Merlin only murmurs that it’s fine and an apology of his own for lashing out, but Arthur doesn’t take it. He turns Merlin around to face him, and he sees all the pain from yesterday still stowed away in his eyes. The only thing he can think to do is pull him to his chest and give him a hug with another ‘I’m sorry’ said next to Merlin’s ear. He can’t hold it all in anymore, and Merlin grips back with a choked, relieved sigh. Arthur says to never speak of this again. Merlin nods, but he can’t help but smile. Arthur smiles. too.

Or, Arthur comes storming into his chambers with his head about to explode with rage after a fight with his father, and a devastating loss. Merlin is in there polishing his armor or something when he sees stuff flying across the room and hears Arthur just about roaring in fury. When Merlin asks him what in the hell he’s on about, he gets a full face of a furious, unhinged Arthur. He’s throwing things, he’s tugging his hair, and he’s completely losing control.With every time that Merlin tries to talk some sense into him, he only burns up more until Merlin finally yells at him to please tell him what’s going on, and Arthur starts to yell again, but he can’t help it anymore. He starts to cry from everything his father has done, and everything he’s seen happen by his order and stood by. The things he’d done by his fathers side, even if it hurt his soul, and of course, his mother. He couldn’t take any more of it. Arthur can’t hide the tears welling in his eyes, Merlin stunned into worried silence at his outburst. After he lets Arthur have a moment, Merlin walks up to him and wraps his arms around his king, and just hugs him, letting Arthur let it all out. Once he’s settled enough and Merlin lets him go, Arthur whispers a thank you, to which he replies ‘of course, Sire’.

Just imagine that Merlin is secretly sparring with the other knights of the round table (probably Gwaine and Lancelot) to kick Arthur in the ass later. His time off is spent in the fields with a sword in hand, and Merlin has gotten pretty good. As Arthur is prowling the castle for his servant, he finds himself in the training yard to see Merlin with Gwaine, sparring. At first Arthur laughs, as he’s expecting Merlin’s rear end pummeled to the ground in the next few seconds. But Merlin has gotten quick, and although his clumsy demeanor is ever present, he’s actually very smooth. Arthur freezes right then and there as Merlin sweeps Gwaine off his feet and presses the sword to his chest, suddenly feeling flushed. When Merlin finds out that Arthur had been watching the whole time (with an awkward, witty little wave) Arthur can’t find the words, only nodding to him and turning tail. Merlin’s face soon turns red after, and Gwaine is a little shit about it and fucks around with Merlin and teases him endlessly.

Or, another fun one. Merlin got some shit or something spilled on him and he rushes into his room to get changed. Unbeknownst to Arthur, who speeds past Gaius and into Merlin’s room to behold.... Merlin, in nothing but his undergarments. And holy shit, Arthur was not prepared to see that. Merlin never takes off his tunic, much less his trousers. Never. Arthur hadn’t even seen his bare skin past his forearms. So to see his chest in plain sight, and his stomach and hips and shoulders and thighs is just... *poof*. Arthur has lost it. Merlin turns around and notices him there and yanks his sheet to his chest with a confused hello, trying to hide his red cheeks. Arthur is quick with a bullshit explanation and hightails it the fuck out, and both of them can’t stop blushing. Before a tournament, when Merlin is preparing Arthur in the tent after they had a little fight that Arthur suspects Merlin is still a little mad about (well, not really a fight, just an altercation that has Merlin debating about sharing his feelings), Arthur is prodding and poking at him and all but begging him to banter with him. But, Merlin stays mostly silent while securing his armor. No matter how many insults he throws at Merlin, his mouth stays shut. As a last attempt to wring out some of Merlin’s humor or at least a smile, Arthur asks, “a kiss for good luck?”. Merlin is actually stunned by his question at first, but he thinks about it for a moment. And after some awkward consideration and then a last thought of ‘fuck it’, Merlin tugs his chains and smacks his lips against Arthur’s, hot and wet and sudden and tight for the most shocking 6 seconds of Arthur’s life and then Merlin shoves him out of the tent and into the sparring match and Arthur is just O__o (I got this from a cool fanart comic, I can’t find it anymore tho, so the idea isn’t mine)

After Arthur finds out about Merlin’s magic and has returned from the lake (about a year later), he’s still a little weary of his sorcery, but he’s still curious. And once Merlin has had enough of his tip toeing, he finally sits him down in his chambers and shows him how amazing magic can really be. With a wave of his hand and some old, gentle words, Merlin conjures a ball of soft blue light that forms a dragon swirling around above Merlin’s fingers. Unlike the other times Arthur has seen dragons depicted, this one is graceful, and it seems docile as it floats over him. He’s enchanted with it, leaning in to look at it more closely. That’s when Merlin asked if he wanted to try something. He nodded, and Arthur’s hands were taken into Merlin’s with an incantation, and then he held a luminescent dragon in his hand as well. It dances around his head as he begins to smile.Ever since that faithful day Arthur keeps asking for Merlin to show him more magic, and every time he asks, Merlin smiles, too.

Can you tell I’m a fan of Merthur?

After Uther is dead, Arthur is shut off from the rest of the world, and not even the love of Camelot could bring him back. Merlin doesn’t say anything about it, silently supporting him with little acts, but not broaching him about it. One night, Merlin comes into Arthur’s bedchambers to see it completely tarnished. Clothes and trinkets thrown about askew, the sheets and curtains torn and discarded on the floor, and Arthur sitting on the floor with his arms resting on his knees, one of the most painful looks Merlin has ever seen trapped behind his eyes. Still, Merlin says nothing as he shuffles over to where Arthur is haphazardly collapsed on the floor, sliding down the wall to sit next to him. And he doesn’t say a word as he offers his hand, palm up, between them to where Arthur can see. Merlin doesn’t need to ask, and Arthur doesn’t need to answer as he tangles their fingers together. They speak without using their voices there, neither of them pushing, but both feeling a pull. Arthur’s tears start to fall, with Merlin squeezing his hand through them. Slowly, Merlin scoots closer until Arthur’s head is resting on his. They spend the entire night like that, the world outside a blur. No one bothers them, and no one comes to wake up the King, his head resting on Merlin’s shoulder.

Merlin is pushed into the lake. During an ambush from Morgana and her forces, Merlin is knocked into the freezing water, cracking the ice and slipping under. It’s Lancelot that sees his neckerchief on the water surface and a pale body sinking through, racing against the splitting ice to reach him. He almost doesn’t grab him in time, but by partly submerging himself, he’s able to grab a hold on one of Merlin’s stiff arms and haul him over the surface. After hearing the lake’s surface break, Arthur knows something bad had happened, but he couldn’t actually go over and investigate until Morgana’s soldiers are on the ground in front of him. Once he does, he sees the red fabric damp and frosted on the water, and his heart frosts over with it. Merlin’s lips are blue like his fingertips, all the life drained from his skin. He’s not breathing. Now Arthur’s hands are shaking as he feels over Merlin’s cold skin for a pulse. He can’t feel one, but he won’t give up. He can’t. So he tries to give Merlin some of his warmth, rubbing over his arms and sides and rolling him over. He rips off his cloak and wraps him in it, but the fabric is soaked through in seconds. He pleads to the gods, begs them not to take him, not him, please. His tears burn hot in anger and desperation as he finally shakes his limp body and yells at him, orders him to live. Just then, Merlin’s fingers twitch, and not soon after he’s coughing up lake water onto himself, body now fully wracked with shaking as a burst of his magic forces his heart to beat, and for him to take in a breath.

#merthur #merlin x arthur #bbc merlin #arthur pendragon x merlin emrys #merlin emrys #arthur pendragon #fanfiction #ish #yes #yes I am going to write all of these #they all need hugs

56 notes · View notes

reignsan · 5 years ago

Text

The Prelatis show Richard the events of Zero via their illusions, hoping to demoralize him by showing him the ways it broke Artoria, since he’s the world’s biggest King Arthur fanboy.

Instead he proceeds to go on a huge joyful fanboy rant about how much he loves her and thanks the Prelatis for what they showed him.

Long post warning. Translated by You on Beast’s Lair:

AYAKA was horrified. Saber who usually had a lot of say hadn't spoken a word since the king in blue appear. There were no words of praise or gasps of surprise, it was almost as if she couldn't feel Saber's presence even if he was just across from her. The figure of the king who did not obtain anything, the king who was treated as a magus' hunting dog, who euthanized the weak of the edge of death, and at the very end betrayed when she was about to fulfill her wish. What was going through Saber's mind when he saw that? AYAKA had to speak, but she couldn't think of anything to say to him. However, beside AYAKA, the silent Saber raised his voice. "Francesca Prelati" Hearing that voice AYAKA reflectively turned. Saber's face was completely blank but she felt as though some glistened in his eye. Maybe it was her imagination or maybe they tears of despair from from the shock. But, it was the reverse. Upright, Saber gave this illusionary world a bow of the highest grade. "The person who edited this illusion should know the weight of king bowing to another." "Saber?" In front of the bewildered AYAKA, Saber spoke the words that echoed from his soul. "However, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to express my gratitude for teaching me this new heroic tale of the great Knight King!" Growing aware of the emotions that were bubbling up from his words, not just AYAKA, but also the Prelatis started showing signs of confusion. He was overwhelmingly... delighted. 　 If those were tears that glistened in his eyes, it seems they were from gratitude and delight. "Saber... what?" "AYAKA.... look at the Knight King... Don't you see a hero?" "Eh?" "As for me, Ayaka. I already know the legend of the Round Table, how the king is betrayed, how unreasonable things happened, how at the last moment she was worn-out and lost everything. But, I admire even those parts." As AYAKA tilts her head, Richard begins to speak slowly as if a boy talking about his favorite baseball team. "And its not like the other two kings denied the Knight King's answer in the banquet." "Eh? But, with that much shouting..." "Think carefully. It was just because Alexander the Great was angry. He never denied the Knight King's royal path. There was a lot of talk about her being a figurehead idol, but he never denied the idol herself. It's simple, he was saying "I'll acknowledge your achievements but I don't like it."" Far from distracted, Richard spoke much more calmly than ever and AYAKA said surprised. "Is that... so?" "This is second-hand from my mother but, "The king does not walk the royal path; the people who walk that path are known as the nation." Depending on the era and the geography, the nation and vassals' moods, morality and everything else easily shifts. That's why there's no right answer to that conversation, and above all, the three who participated are the ones who should understand that the most. We are trying to infer their reasoning, not determine how right they are." While grandly standing, Richard offered a joke to AYAKA. "Well, there was one thing our Knight King lacked compared to the others. Her voice was too small! I would approve and deny any king's intentions! After all, it's natural for who was born in a different land, in a different time to have their own royal intentions! But the guy who said "I was the one who was right!" at the end was strong. He reminded me of that Crusader, Phillip. Seeing this, the Prelati's voices became dyed in bewilderment. "Okay, I'm going there. Shouldn't you be more serious about insulting the other two kings or be in despair at Arto-chan to the point that your extra skin falls off?" "By the way, aren't you surprised King Arthur is a girl?" Erasing all emotion from their voice, they spoke with confidence. "Of course.. You already know." "The magecraft entangled with the true King Arthur... no, Artoria Pendragon's legend. You somehow reached it, didn't you? Looking away from the doubting Prelatis, Richard stretched his entire body. "I see. So that was really your goal. Do you want to know how far I've stepped into the history of the Knight King? I'm afraid to say I haven't been to the tower where Merlin's imprisoned." Then, his expression left his face and looked up at the sky in deep, deep thought. "Ahh... but that was really wonderful... Alexander the Great, Goldie, and my ancestral king... Everyone was a "King" beyond imagination." "Saber?" AYAKA spoke because she was worried. Saber was not shocked, but instead stopped moving and started monologuing. Saber slowly turned back down to her and said, "AYAKA" "W-What?" "AYAKA's determination... I'll accept it." "Eh?" In front of the blankly staring AYAKA, Saber spread his arms out wide, making no effort to hide his damaged armor. "One more time... I want our meeting to have had meaning." With a theatrical bow, Richard takes AYAKA's hand in one flowing movement. "I ask you..." The king and the girl standing in a solemn castle in the middle of a forest blended into the landscape with beautiful harmony. Just like a verse in a heroic tale told in many legends. "Are you my Master?"

[...]

Running to meet the materialized "death" that was filling the city, Saber's heart soared. -As legend, King Arthur was his ally. If he relaxed his trembling heart a little, he may shed tears of joy. Her actions deserved praise. Whether it was the thread from those she trusted or her own thread, she had re-spun it herself over and over, making sure the fluttering flag of our country would never break. The body moved unconsciously, clearing away two, three giant skulls. -Of course, if I had taken a different path, I might not choose to redo everything. His movements sped up as he cut down each skull. By the time he killed more than ten, he had already reached his maximum speed when he was fighting the golden Heroic Spirit. -But so what? Such a thing is trivial. That's just a difference in values. As Saber struggled forth, one by one the knights and archers that made up his retinue smashed into the surrounding giant skulls. "Without talk of morality, I'll praise your conviction!" He realized he was shouting. Unable to contain the overflowing thoughts, he shouted in delight as he ran up the hotel at high speed. "That's why I admire you! No matter how angry the Conqueror King! No matter how mocking the ancient Hero King!" Richard actually understood the source of the Conqueror King's anger. He was fond of Alexander but could not deny King Arthur's will. After all, the royal path the Lionhearted King walks is completely different from those three. That's why he celebrates. It is belief in the ideal the Knight King embraced that forms his chivalry. "I will affirm my chivalry, spun from my ideals, until it results in the fruits of my subjects returning to nothing. That is my tyranny; the poof of my kingship!" Richard asserts that he believes the Knight King's "sacrificing oneself for her ideals" is "tyranny" and proclaims it commendable. Hearing that voice, the police look on in wonderment. AYAKA lets out a big sigh, "how just like him," and smiles. "...But o' Great King Arthur. You've been worrying too much about one thing." Saber's face was slightly clouded as he stated his concern, and as if offering counsel to someone not present, recited his thoughts. "O'Ancestral king to mine chivalry! You have not noticed! The country the Round Table constructed, the Round Table destroyed, does not need to be remade!" "For King Arthur has guided us to Avalon!"

[...]

Having run up to the rooftop of the next tallest building behind the Crystal Hill, Saber gave himself a second to catch his breath. "My great ancestral king! I'll prove to you!" In front of him was a remarkably giant, jet black skull. It was made from fusing many of the giant skulls together. From its back bloomed an uncountable number of bones so it resembled Avalokiteśvara. In front of the grotesque monster, Saber had no fear and continued to carve praise for King Arthur onto the world. "The royal path you walked was never wrong!" Saber kicked off from the rooftop and soared high into the sky. "The pride and the royal path the Round Table left us is what created us. Their tragedy and ruin shaped our souls! The glory of humanity, chivalry, is eternal. It shall never fall. Let me sing that to the Round Table and yourself!" As he passed through the encroaching jet black flame, Saber fired a slash of light with all the power he possessed. "We who admire you have lain eyes upon it! O'Ancestral King Arthur please keep watch!" While singing the wish he carried at the top of his lungs. "I may have already lost my qualification but..." After a momentary self-depreciating smile came a shout studded in the radiance of a wish entrusted to someone he had not yet seen nor heard. "One day, someone who isn't me will finally reach utopia (you)! Ahh, yes! The history of planet you spun will surely deliver the place your body lays a peaceful breeze! And until the sound of that blessing plays -!" "With the Holy Grail's power - I shall sing humanity's victory song so that it even reaches the depths of utopia (Avalon).

#fate strange fake #richard the lionheart #richard iii #saber #artoria pendragon #ayaka sajyou #fate zero #iskandar #gilgamesh #francesca prelati #francois prelati #fate strange fake spoilers #fsf spoilers #king arthur

147 notes · View notes

noxleyfin · 5 years ago

Text

Merlin Imagine: Leon’s Daughter

→ a/n: I don’t know any of the actors personally nor do I own them or their characters. What’s written below is fiction and should be thought of and treated as such. I am essentially using them as a name-claim and face-claim. I’m creating my own character and using the actors as background characters, and just using their name and features for details. I do not directly associate the actors with any ideas used in my writing. This writing is to be used for entertainment and fictional purposes only. → summary: Leon has secret, what happens when he can’t hide it anymore? → warnings: sickness? bad writing → word count: 1.4k → completion: done → (Y/N) - Your Name

3rd Person POV

Sir Leon…

Easily one of the most well-known and important knights to the kingdom of Camelot. Not just for being one of the Knights of the Round Table, but also training and leading many men in and out of bloody battles. Everyone who knew him trusted him with their life; it was easy to. He was like an open book, no secrets to keep and nothing ever out of order in his life, or so everyone thought.

•••

Thursday, Sometime in Summer 8:48 a.m. [Training Day] 3rd Person POV

Sir Leon’s day wasn’t exactly going to plan. To start, he woke up much later than usual due to getting back from Guard Duty late last night; second, his training knights just weren’t advancing like they were supposed to be. Instead, they sat around and messed around instead of practicing their form. They reminded him of Gwaine in that aspect, but at least he had the decency to eventually quit the jokes and get to work. That led him to 3, the worst thing of all: his daughter was sick and he wasn’t able to get the nice old lady next door to watch her. She was busy with her own sick relative and although she’d expressed her apologies multiple times, Leon was still pretty peeved.

At the moment, instead of heading to the training fields (like he should have been ten minutes ago), he was sitting on the edge of his daughters cot, stroking her soft hair and mumbling a lullaby under his breath. She’d been sick for a few days but it hadn’t been this bad yet. Leon was ready to take her to Gauis but he didn’t want to risk the questions he would no doubt get from Arthur and the rest of his friends.

His daughter let out another weak cough and Leon decided against whatever he was just thinking. He carefully reached his arms under her knees and gently lifted her into his arms, adjusting her so she was still wrapped tightly in her blanket. She let on a small whimper and curled into Leon’s chest.

“It’s alright, (Y/N). We’re going to get you some help,” Leon whispered and made haste for the door on their cottage.

Once he was outside, he hurriedly strolled down the path. He weaved in between the commoners, ignoring the glances of those who didn’t know of his child while smiling tensely at those who did. Coming through the courtyard gates (while silently thanking that he didn’t have to pass the training field to get there) he made his way through the long corridor and up to Merlin and Gauis’ chambers.

“Gauis!” He called, promptly startling the old man who was mixing a tincture of some sort.

He turned after he’d recovered from his brief moment of shock and was confused to see Sir Leon standing in his doorway holding a bundle and looking quite anxious.

“Sir Leon!” He exclaimed, “Shouldn’t you be at training? What’s that?” Gauis inquired.

“Oh Gauis, you’ve got to help me. It’s my daughter. Please.” Leon set the bundle down and pulled the blanket back to reveal a little girl who looked deathly pale.

Gauis immediately went straight into ‘Physician Mode,’ completely ignoring the ‘daughter’ part, knowing it was a secondhand issue that could be discussed later. He poked and prodded at the little girl, trying to figure out what was wrong when he discovered it.

“It’s nothing serious-” Gauis was cut off by a loud sigh of relief but nonetheless, continued, “However, it’s not something that will go away in a day. I’d like to keep her here until it passes through. Is that alright, Sir Leon?” He finished, staring at the terror-stricken father.

“Uh yes, yes that’s alright.” Leon responded absentmindedly; he was too busy keeping an eye on his daughter (whose chest was rising and falling at an unsteady pace).

“I’ll look after her now. Shouldn’t you be off to training?” Gauis asked.

That seemed to snap Leon out of his trance.

“Oh bloody hell,” he cursed. “Arthur’s going to kill me! Thank you so much Gauis. I’ll see you later.” With a swift kiss to (Y/N)’s head, he was out the door and sprinting towards the training grounds.

•••

When he finally arrived, he knew he was in for it. No one held a sword and none of the training dummies were set up to train with. Leon’s training knights weren’t even on the field; the only one’s there were Arthur, Lancelot, Gwaine, Percival, Elyan, and obviously, Merlin. They were standing in the middle of the field talking when they heard the distant sound of footsteps and turned around.

“Sir Leon!” Arthur called ‘cheerfully.’ “What brings you here today?”

“Ehm, just training, Milord.” Leon responded with audible nervousness in his voice.

“If I remember correctly, training started nearly half an hour ago, did it not?”

“It did, Milord,” Leon said, defeated.

“So why in the hell are you late to training?!” Arthur snapped causing the poor man to nearly jump out of his skin.

“I know there’s no excuse, Sire, but-,” Leon was cut off by Arthur.

“You’re damn right there’s no excuse but if you must, go ahead. Out with it Sir Leon.” Arthur waved his hand in a ‘say it’ motion.

Leon knew this was the time but he wasn’t ready. Sure, Merlin would no doubt find out later when he returned to his chambers, but he didn’t want everyone to find out.

He stared at the Knights looking like a gaping fish. Lancelot began to get concerned. This wasn’t the brave leader he once knew. The man in front of him looked terrified to say the wrong thing, very unlike his Leon.

He walked forward and clapped Leon on the shoulder, speaking gently to him, “What is it Leon? I’ve never seen you this nervous before.” He asked, his concern growing more and more as more silence rang out.

“Well I uhm, uh,” Leon rubbed his face and gathered himself, putting on his stern, knight facade before he spoke almost steadily, “I was taking care of my daughter.”

Silence rang out and Lancelot’s hand dropped from his shoulder as a result of his shock. Arthur looked astonished, Percival and Elyan were gawking from where they stood, Merlin’s eyes went so wide Leon was afraid they would fall right out of their sockets, while Gwaine just looked downright offended.

“Daughter?!” Arthur just managed to choke out before he went silent again.

Leon nodded. “Yes, my daughter. I had just taken her to Gauis and-,” and for the second time today, he was cut off, this time by Merlin.

“Wait, why did you have to take her to Gauis? Is she sick?” He asked worriedly.

Leon nodded grimly.

“Leon…I, I’m sorry for my behavior towards you. It was not right for me to scold you like that.” Arthur apologized but it sounded far more awkward than anything.

“It’s alright, Arthur.” Leon decided to drop the formalities. “If you don’t mind, I would like to go check on how she’s doing?” He asked hopefully.

Arthur nodded. “Of course, Sir Leon.”

Leon smiled and began to back away towards the opening in the fence. Before he got too far away, he called over his shoulder, “You can come meet her if you want.”

Before he knew it, 5 knights and a servant were following behind him like a crowd flaunting their king.

Soon, they’d reached the door to Gauis’ chambers and quietly made their way inside when Leon reminded them that his daughter might be sleeping.

“Papa!” Was the first thing they heard when the door opened.

While Leon continued forward, the rest of them held back to take in the sight. A little girl, not much older than a toddler lay on the patient’s cot with a small rag on her head and a bucket of water next to the bed. They immediately noticed the similarities between Leon and this girl from the shape of their eyes to the identical smile that lit up both of their faces when they saw each other.

“Hello, Love,” Leon called gently as he sat on the bed next to her, comfortingly stroking her like he did this morning. “Papa wants you to meet his friends, okay?”

The girl nodded and stared at the men herded together by the door like a group of chickens about to be sat on the chopping block.

“Boys-,” Leon addressed his friends, “This is my daughter, (Y/N). (Y/N), these are my friends: Arthur, Gwaine, Lancelot, Percival, Elyan, and Merlin. They are the knights that I train with everyday.”

Leon introduced the two groups to each other but no one said a word until Gwaine (That Stupid Bastard™) sauntered forward like he was the talk of the town, threw a hand down on Leon’s shoulder, and asked, “So... who’s the unlucky lady?”

14 notes · View notes

hydra-collector · 5 years ago

Text

Bruises Don’t Bleed

Voila! A fic! A Merlin fic!

Pairing: Merthur, could be taken as platonic Characters: Merlin, Arthur, mention of Gaius Words: 1,736 Summary: Merlin does self-harm, Arthur tries to help. TW: Self-harm, cursing, self-deprecating thoughts, death mention, almost panic attack

Notes: I’ll read self-harm fics, but they’re pretty much only cutting, which is something I can’t relate to. I wanted to write a self-harm fic that I could relate to more.

It’s fine. It means nothing. Sure, it hurts, but you’re perfectly fine, at worst frustrated at Arthur.

You’re just…

Merlin’s foot tapped hard on the floor. He was fine. Nothing to worry about. Nothing for anyone to worry about. The bruises scattered across his arms and hands meant nothing. He’d always been taught that pain was blood. This wasn’t blood, therefore, not pain.

Stupid, that’s it, stupid.

Harder. Hit harder.

It hurts.

It hurts cause you’re stupid.

His mind was fuzzy and scattered, packed with thoughts and emotions that shouldn’t be there. He needed to feel something to drive them away. Arthur’s resistance to touch meant… that feeling was usually pain.

There’s gotta be something he hadn’t done, there always is. Arthur always had something for him to do. He couldn’t just be here, sitting around, whacking his stupid self with a stupid spoon. So what hadn’t he done? He’d done the room, clothes, boots, armor-

Stables?

Arthur had asked him. Of course. The matter now is finding a place to hide his spoon. Arthur had found the last utensil, a fork, inside a cupboard. Fork was better.

Bang bang goes your head on the table.

He finally willed himself to stand up, the world suddenly rushing back in. He was tired. He was tired a lot.

Just hide the spoon and do the stables.

Right, focus. Arthur might be back soon, and if Merlin wasn’t doing work… well, he’d be much more stressed out than he already was. Where could he put the spoon? Under the bed’s too easily seen. Cupboard was discovered. Closet’s too big, he didn’t want to lose it again and have to steal more utensils. Somewhere he could remember, somewhere Arthur wouldn’t look…

The floor. The floor was good. He could pry up a board, lot of them were pretty weak anyway. Yeah, he’d do that.

Be quick, Arthur’ll come soon.

Merlin found a loose one in the corner near Arthur’s cabinet. Maybe loose enough to pry up with his hands.

It was an ordeal resulting in at least three splinters, but he was hurting anyway, what’s some extra pain? He decided to get them out before hiding the spoon, though. Gaius was bound to notice if his hand was bleeding in several places.

This was a mistake.

Ice shot up Merlin’s body as a familiar voice echoed his name dangerously close to the door. The open door.

You’re anxious about everything, but forget to close the door? While hiding something? You’re more of a useless, stupid bitch than you ever imagined-

His mind would have continued ridiculing itself if not for the impending approach of Arthur’s footsteps. Panic rose in his chest as he pulled down his shirt sleeve, trying to stuff the spoon in the floor simultaneously.

“What are you doing?”

Wanting to die-

“Uh, I, well, you see,” he tried desperately for an excuse. “I was, um, checking the floorboards.”

Why would you say that? What does that even mean?

Arthur’s gaze became more confounded as he stared at Merlin, who was tugging at his sleeve, nervous.

“Aren’t you supposed to be cleaning the stables?”

“Yeah, well, I thought that the floorboards would need… checking. They’re old, you know. Got to make sure they don’t fall apart.”

“If you’re trying to check the floorboards to make sure they don’t break, you’re probably not going to help it by stomping your foot.”

Stupid.

He flinched from his internal abuse, hoping Arthur wouldn’t notice. It seems that it wouldn’t matter if he did, though, as he had begun to walk over to Merlin’s incomplete hiding spot.

Oh god the spoon the spoon the spoon-

“Wait-”

Merlin said this with no plan of an excuse. He managed to fumble out a few sounds, but nothing to convince Arthur to stop. So he grabbed his wrist.

It stopped Arthur with the sudden contact, but at that point he could already see the torn up floorboard. He picked up the spoon.

“Merlin, I will be absolutely amazed if you have a valid reason you were trying to put a spoon in the floor.”

“I, uh, dropped it when I was looking for woodworms. Yeah.” He’d already used that exuse, but it’d have to do.

“You were using a spoon to look for woodworms?”

Merlin tried to argue back, but his tapping foot, shaking body, and hand curled tightly around Arthur’s wrist discounted any lies he tried to tell.

Arthur looked down at the slender hand grasping his wrist and Merlin instantly let go. What on earth could be going on with Merlin? What- what- what-

“What’s wrong with you?”

Merlin’s breath nearly cut off. The voices in his head were joined by another, one that was sure to be true. Arthur had said it, it must have been true. There was something wrong with him, he was worthless, useless, stupid, and grasping his arms tight enough for the bruises to feel.

Bruises are better than bleeding. They’re like inconspicuous pain buttons.

“Merlin-” Arthur began to speak, but Merlin’s wide eyes warned him not to. Instead, he took Merlin’s hand gently, guiding him to sit down. Merlin flinched at the touch to his raw bruises, but said nothing.

Arthur looked down to where he was holding Merlin’s cold fingers. “What’s on your hand?”

And of course, Merlin pulled away, whispering a ‘nothing’. This is the wrong decision, like it always is, and only aroused more suspicion from Arthur. He took back Merlin’s arm, rolling up the sleeve.

Damn, that hurt. Couldn’t he be a bit gentler?

“What the hell happened?”

Merlin’s arm was covered in blue and purple bruises. Any touch to them would hurt. His arms would try to heal, but then only be exposed to more abuse. It was a never-ending cycle of constant pain. He wondered how much he’d really been hitting himself.

Arthur’s hand was far too rough on his skin, but warm. He’d developed an automatic aversion to touching his arms, so they were never warm. He relaxed into the touch, despite the pain.

“It must be all that violent training you do. Y’know, hitting me with a mace through a shield.”

“Are you sure that could make these kinds of bruises? They’re… everywhere.”

Merlin felt his cover slipping. It had already, but now it felt like the spoon battering his soul along with being revealed.

But… would it be so bad?

Yes. Yes it would. Arthur couldn’t know, because then he wouldn’t be able to do it.

That’s my point. Do you really want to keep hurting?

“Well, if it is all that training, you’re probably fine. You’re not bleeding or anything. The knights can deal with it, you’re not that much weaker than them,” Arthur said, barely believing it. He didn’t want to believe that Merlin wasn’t okay.

His mind swarmed with more evil words. Worthlessness.

I… I don’t think I do.

“I’m not fine.”

“I’m not fine, Arthur.”

Merlin stood and retrieved the spoon.

“I did this to myself. I’m not fine.”

“Bleeding… does not equal pain. I’m not fine.” And he repeated it, that he wasn’t fine, each round making him feel it. He wasn’t fine, and that was the way it was. It wasn’t okay just because no blood showed, it wasn’t okay lying to himself about why. He wasn’t frustrated at his job or Arthur, he was frustrated at himself. Hated himself. Feared himself. Feared he might hurt others, kill others. Kill himself.

And he cried. Like anybody would, coming to face that they need and want help. Wanting to feel more than cold metal on bruises.

Arthur obliged to Merlin’s thoughts. He pulled Merlin from his chair and sat him on the bed, wrapping his arms around his middle, making sure not to touch his arms. Merlin hugged back, burying his wet face into Arthur’s shoulder.

They sat there, neither prepared to talk, just content to hold each other. Neither had to think, worry, do anything.

“What- what’s going on, Merlin?”

Merlin’s eyes let out more tears, but in a few minutes, he answered.

“I- I don’t want you to think this is your fault,” Merlin began in a muffled voice, “but I need… help. Every little task is too much. I have to do it perfectly, or it’s worthless. I’m worthless.”

Deep breath. It’s okay now, Arthur’s here.

“It started years and years ago, when I was a kid. My family had to keep me a secret, and that got stressful. Every conversation with someone was hiding something from them, the chance that they’d find out. Every wrong word could blow our cover, and it would all be my fault. As I got older, it got better, it got okay. And, eventually, I thought it was gone. I… was wrong. Please understand that this isn’t your fault, but it got worse when I started to work for you. I had to keep my magic a secret from you, and I just constantly wished that I didn’t have to. It was so much. And I had to constantly do tasks and do them correctly and any mistake could lose me my job. Make me lose you. I promised myself that I would keep you okay,” Merlin paused, “but I forgot about myself.”

Again, he started to cry, holding on tight to Arthur. The bruises hurt on his arms, but that didn’t even matter at this point. Arthur was here, he was safe. He felt a warm hand stroke his hair, letting Merlin sink into Arthur even more. Right now, he didn’t have to worry. He didn’t have to hit himself with cold metal to feel. Right now, he felt Arthur.

“I know you said it wasn’t my fault, but I did hurt you. I gave you task after task because it’s what you were supposed to be doing, but I ignored that... you’re a human, too. I ignored how you might feel. And I ignored how serious,” Arthur took Merlin’s hand, gently stroking the bruises, “this was.”

Merlin wanted to tell him how much he loved him, appreciated what he’d said and done, but words couldn’t form over a mix of happy, sad, and anxious tears. Instead, he hugged tighter. With every minute that passed, a bit of his bruised soul felt a little better.

Now, there was nothing expected of him.

No pressure.

No more spoons.

It’s- it’s

“It’s okay, Merlin.”

#any other tws?#merlin #merlin x arthur #arthur x merlin #merthur #murthur #idk i saw someone spell it like that #merlin tv #idk ooookkkkkk #ol korrect?#self harm fic #fanfiction #gray's fanfic #merlin fanfiction #tw self harm #is this how it works am i doing this right #never a wrong time to quote steven universe #grays fics

37 notes · View notes

mimir-anoshe · 4 years ago

Text

💧&🔥

Just a bit of Cursed/Nimulot analysis… Cause I’m bored. And I might have found some interesting parallels/imagery watching it through for the 7 billionth time that I would love to share. If anyone enjoys writing meta… Which I mean I know some of y’all need your fix… Feel free to use anything/expand upon it. I would, but I’m a new fur-mumma and she’s taking up all my waking hours, so this little shit-post about this new hell hole of a ship I’ve dove headfirst into will have to do. The images are from a video and show produced by Netflix, I own nothing, so pls don’t be a bitch about it Tumblr.

***SPOILERS FOR THE SHOW!!! WATCH IT AND COME BACK!! OR DON’T? ANYHOO YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!!*** ⚠️

- beware Tumblr app users, it may be your doom -

Where to begin, with the teaser? Or with…

THE SHOW! Here be just a wee few times the writers/director(s) through the writing/cinematography have mirrored these two ‘protect the kid - warriors till the end’ idiots. I’m sure others have picked up on them… Not in any particular order, here ya go anyway.

1x02 - 1x10

*Insert spiderman pointing at spiderman meme*

One scar made by an actual dark god tricking her when she was a child, the others by a very human evil tricking him when he was a child and the consequences for both lasting into adulthood.

1x02 - 1x10

Look at the years of trauma Anakin, look at it! They even use the same damn word! The phonetic tones of disgust! The outcast syndrome! Oof. (And it’s not like Nimue being called demon has to do with a general racial-slur from a human, that is a fey calling her that from her own village!) They both grew up viewing themselves as “demons”, the “abominations”. Even their expressions are the same, fear and sorrow and self-hatred. All they both want is to be accepted! (By their fathers especially). To be loved.

The two who are “cursed.”

1x02 - 1x01

*says nothing*

1x04 - 1x01

“Where to begin? With water or with fire?”

Where to begin? WHERE TO BEGIN??? *dies*

Water ☯ Fire

Sword up ☯ Sword down

Light/Day ☯ Dark/Shadow

Life & Death (Life around her, death in the water) ☯ Death & Life (forest fires make way for new growth)

Long bit: Both characters are associated to the elements of water and fire individually through the environment/cinematography/colour pallet/colour symbolism, and then water and fire is mirrored between them. She is overall water, he is overall fire; but they also have a bit of the other in each other.

For Nimue this symbolism is often done through her environment, showing her connection to nature as the fey queen and that she does not hide who she is if she can help it. She does not hide externally, so her elemental symbolism becomes EXTERNAL.

Whilst for Lancelot though he is often surrounded by fire, the idea of water/tears is either symbolised through the fairy tale style of the artwork or referenced for him through his name as “the weeping monk.” Hinted at in his characterisation of guilt and self-loathing, the way other characters respond to him (”the one who cries”/”you see it all through those weeping eyes”). His main conflict is an Internal fight between who he is and who he needs to become, so a lot of his main symbolism surrounding water (and even fire as pertaining to magic - ashfolk - and not killing fey) is INTERNALISED, hidden, cut off from the Hidden themselves. Symbolic of him hiding his connection to the fey and that other side of himself, the “human” (morally speaking) side, and therefore hiding who he truly is… Lancelot.

For Nimue, fire means life. Being chosen and her magic saving people. For Lancelot fire means Death, his deeds, “the fires of hell” and the destruction of the “ash” folk and his heritage. He believes hell fire is his fate, going by the “even if I am damned.”

For Nimue, water means death. In the water she takes revenge, where that Paladin almost drowned her. Into the water she falls, where they think her shot dead by arrows. The water is her fate as the Lady of the Lake. For Lancelot, water means life. Tears, emotions, taking responsibility, feeling the weight of his guilt and mourning for the things he has done/lost. For him, water - not ash -means a second chance to be better. To put out the fires and heal.

Though in the end, for both of them, water & fire most of all represent death and rebirth.

1x03

^If you don’t understand I can’t help you. ☯

1x01 - 1x07

Now this one I found quite interesting. Remember that even if Nimue directed the second one, it is still the Power/will of the Hidden at play. (Or should I say the will of the Writers/director) Chosen? Mirrors? Night and Day? Fire… Embers to Ashes? We shall see, but I think it was definitely on purpose.

^I’ll just leave that here, the fuckers kept missing each other for an entire season (WHICH WAS ON PURPOSE THE WRITERS DID THAT ON PURPOSE just as an fyi). The fact that there is this much sexual tension, anticipation, mirroring, fate, destiny and chemistry between two characters who have never even mET should be ILLEGAL! They affect each other immeasurably without ever even meeting, so imagine what will happen when they do...? *pterodactyl screech*

Whelp there ye go. Under the next gif I also did a bit on the Teaser trailer, as that just fucked me up a bit I have to tell you! Up to you whether you want to continue digesting my mad ramblings or not. *Shrug* Thanks for coming to my TED talk guys– 😂 Somebody fucking smite me down like the eldritch horror of writing I am dear god think of the children…

THE OFFICIAL TEASER TRAILER:

Arthur running for the Sword of Power, because you know, King Arthur.

“The Legend says…” The Legend of King Arthur and his Sword Excalibur/Caliburnus? The line is very meta, a reference to the in world legend that this story will create, but it’s also expecting the audience to be savvy of the actual legend of King Arthur and his knights. Both these ideas intertwined into one. Aka, the trailer expects us to have pre-decided expectations for the story we’re now being told, because we’ve already been told it before; this fairy tale of celtic myth/history. All the “spoilers” about Arthur, his lineage, Morgana, Guinevere, the Knights, even the lady of the Lake herself come with that knowledge. However…

Surprise surprise, the Weeping Monk (killer of fae)/ Lancelot (eventually Arthur’s most trusted KNIGHT) instead picks up the fae sword from it being embedded in the ground, subverting our expectation, it definitely fucking subverted mine, but not in a GOT way, in a ~good~ way. I was like, “Whosoever be this fine hooded fellow hath stole away both sword and my good sense!!! 👀”

Also harkening back to the legend of the sword in the stone (another expectation), which the action itself signifies that person be - as Merlin so eloquently puts - “The one true king.”

Ok… Symbolic wink wink nudge nudge towards his true nature (inside and out), saving Percival, potentially becoming the greatest warrior and protector of his people and eventually a Knight of the Round Table; and perhaps King of our Hearts??? Ok, sure thing “concept” trailer. I’ll bite.

Ok… *deep breath*

WHOMSt the fUCK decided to frame (fae “ashman”) ?Lancelot? with the ~SWORD OF KINGS~ (also of fae origin) A N D the line…‘the one true king’ ALL IN ONE… instead of Arthur?

‘BELONGS to the one true King?’ Belongs, hmm interesting word choice… This done in a worms eye view shot meant to make the viewer feel like the character is above/superior/basically we’re kneeling before them? (Which I mean sure? but…) Hmm??? HMMM??? I don’t understand CONCEPT Trailer what is the CONCEPT you’re trying to get across? One hand on his paladin sword and the other on “fae hope” Excalibur I get, he has to make an important decision, one that will either save his humanity (and his people) or destroy it (them), yeah yeah sure that’s F I N E…

…but what about the “KING” SHIT HMMM?? Is there something you would like to share with the rest of the class? *sips tea whilst staring straight into the camera*

it may mean nothing don’t quote me

…Anwaaaay… We all know in a fight Lancelot can kick Arthur’s ass so that’s not whats going on here. Arthur is P I S S E D. They’re not just bog standard enemies here. I mean WPM kicking him in the ribs was pretty “fuck you” and they were just enemies there. In this instance the sword is in play, Weeping Monk has taken something from Arthur that he feels “BELONGS” to him - in this case symbolised by WPM taking “his” sword - and that’s making it personal.

“You stole my sword ya bitch!” And what is the sword linked to? Power? Sure. The right of being a King? Yep. And also a certain Queen… No no no, this is the Concept of rivalry. It shows that whatever relationship Arthur and his “Knight” will have in the future after all the “die die die” starts to sizzle down will - in its genesis - be a rivalry. Probably mirroring Gawain and Arthur when they first met to an extent. A rivalry for power? For something else? Who Knows!

*whistles innocently*

And down down down he goes. He’s FALLING. There are many metaphorical concepts associated to FALLING… Falling from “grace” (in the eyes of the Church)… Falling because he has a sky full of guilt crashing down upon him… falling for h… falling in Lo… into the Water!!!! Until he is completely submerged. Water, the idea of cleansing, of washing away who you once were/trauma/sins of the past so you may be reborn a better version of yourself. His old ideals are defeated, he submits to his true heritage and allows it to wash around him so he may begin to heal.

Though if we’re talking metaphors, water is - for obvious reasons - always associated with the LADY OF THE LAKE… Nimue. He has fallen into her world. (pss he’s gonna fall for the Chick in the Lake - I think - there ye go). Water is associated to memory/reflections and mirrors. And he is CRASHING through this mirror… This idea of reflections/mirror images is even more ironic when you’ve watched the show.

And as he falls beneath the water with the sword of a King, she rises out of it, with the sword of a Queen… Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s in the biggest shipping hell of them all? Either these two are going to be really good at relay, or there’s some conceptual significance here. The specifics? No fecking clue, will need to wait for a season 2! There is also some interesting use of Z~oo~m in this last bit, but I’m sure it’s pretty obvious to you all. Summary: just visually in a concept “teaser” trailer, the zoom in on them both, the reverse mirroring, the literal and symbolic visual of water and the Sword (of rulers) connecting them frames these two characters together, that’s just in the concept trailer. Links their legend together. TBH IT LITERALLY LOOKS LIKE LANCELOT FELL INTO THE WATER AND TURNED INTO NIMUE WHAT IS THIS GREEK SOULMATE SHIT I’M–

*calms down* This trailer and the show also definitely said to the original Arthurian Legend “RIP but I’m different.” I mean, Nimue is definitely not Lancelot’s mother figure in this one, that’s all I’m saying.

I think this legend might be a wee bit different 😉*cackles*

#nimulot #nimulot meta #nimue x the weeping monk #nimue x weeping monk #cursed spoilers #nimue x lancelot #my meta #mad mimir meanderingly mumbles #Tumblr is my only escape for this - I wouldn't go near twitter with a thousand foot pole if my life depended on it #where to begin? I don't think I'll ever get over that line - I die every time #my pupper was literally like 'mum what the fuck are you doing writing this shit give me LOVES'#also Nimue owns my heart if Lancelot doesn't marry her I'm going to thanks BYE #my shitty humour~~

1 note · View note

darthstitch · 6 years ago

Text

10 Random Headcanons About Mr. Hart and Mr. Unwin

1. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a certain senior Knight newly crowned as Arthur, must be in want of a Guinevere."

The above piece of wisdom was delivered by one Roxy Morton, a.k.a. Lancelot, complete with a rather Significant Look directed at Eggsy Unwin a.k.a. Galahad.

Eggsy's response was an equally eloquent: "Sod off." Also, he was blushing so hard that Harry even noticed it after he walked into the room five minutes later. Which prompted a completely awkward (and adorable, according to Roxy) exchange that consisted of Harry fussing and Eggsy getting all the more flustered, not helped by the fact that at some point, Harry actually called him: "my dear," seemingly by accident. Harry called for tea and Eggsy had to sit through the rest of the Round Table meeting hiding behind a mug of chamomile and scones.

2. Tristan might be a badass assassin who doted on his dog and could easily kill a dozen men with a dull pencil, but he was also interested in crafts and had a puckish sense of humor. He gifted a framed, cross-stitched version of Roxy's quote to Eggsy. Eventually, Eggsy did end up hanging the damn thing in his own office. This was long, long after Eggsy could finally get over the initial abject horror and sheer mortification that John fuckin' Wick had noticed Eggsy's hopeless affections for Harry Hart.

3. It gets worse. EVERYONE actually saw that Eggsy was arse over tits for Harry Hart. "There, there, lad," Merlin told him much, much later, when they'd finally sorted themselves out. "Actually, everyone else had also noticed that he was equally besotted with you."

"Oi," was Harry's reaction to that, in a very deadpan, accurate imitation of Eggsy's accent.

4. Eggsy's "posh" voice gets any number of reactions when he has occasion to use it. His mates have all died of laughter when they've heard him use it in the shop. His mum is also not immune to the giggles, but only because, as she's remarked, "It suits you, Eggsy-boy." Originally, it was a beautiful, dead-on impersonation of Harry himself. These days, when Eggsy slips into that accent, every syllable crisp, cold, and clear, he can actually be terrifying. This is how Galahad takes command of half a dozen Knights in order to go rescue their King and how he even gets Merlin to snap to attention.

5. What most people don't know is that Harry is equally capable of taking on Eggsy's chav accent. The following exchange was recorded for posterity:

Harry: Ah, yer th'guvna, Merlin. Fanks.

Merlin: You're welcome, Galahad.

Harry: S'Arfur, now, innit?

Merlin: ...

Eggsy: *in the background, giggling*

Merlin: Arthur?

Harry: Yeh, bruv?

Merlin: Don't ever do that to me again.

Eggsy: *loses it completely*

6. Harry Hart, of course, spent some time privately agonizing over the fact that he'd gone and fallen for a man half his age. He'd ruefully thought to himself that if he HAD to go through the obligatory "mid-life crisis" he figured that living the life of a Kingsman would have sorted all that out. But no, he had to go arse over teakettle for one beautiful, brave, bright young man who deserved to have the world laid at his feet. Harry was a gentleman of honor and he was quietly prepared to never openly speak of his feelings. If he could have Eggsy in his life as a very dear friend, then Harry would count himself fortunate. If he could have that familiar voice call him " 'Arry" and laugh and tease and generally be the impertinent, mischief-making, cheeky darling that he was, Harry would be content.

(Merlin has heard all this and had to pour himself a very stiff drink, prior to banging his head on his desk because, OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE, HARRY ARTHUR FITZWILLIAM HART.)

7. Harry had quickly become wrapped around the tiny, sticky fingers of little Daisy Unwin from the moment they were introduced. Daisy adored her 'Arry and immediately demanded to be picked up and even Eggsy couldn't completely pry her away, at least until she'd finally fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder, one little hand fisted around Harry's tie. Thus, Harry soon became a regular at tea parties, helped Daisy dress her dolls and also helped her invent fanciful adventures for the dolls to go on, involving kings and dashing knights and dragons and princesses.

8. It was Daisy, actually, who'd managed to finally drive home some very important truths.

"I wuv you, 'Arry."

"I love you too, poppet."

"Eggy wuvs 'Arry too. Wilf you marry Eggy, 'Arry?"

Harry's normally brilliant brain had temporarily gone offline at that innocent question but he must've sputtered out some suitable answer: (Perhaps if Eggsy says yes... / O'course 'e will, 'Arry! Eggy wuvs you muchly!) And right on the heels of that, Harry had heard Eggsy respond in this broken, ragged tone that Harry dearly hoped he would never hear again:

"Eggsy would say 'Yes' - that is, if Harry would only ask."

Needless to say, the two idiots eventually managed to bring Daisy back to her Mum, so that they could have a private talk that involved several heartfelt confessions, kisses and other interesting things best left to the imagination.

No, Merlin, Harry and Eggsy absolutely did not end up defiling the Round Table. Why on earth would they do that when there was a perfectly acceptable bedroom?

In any case, the above incident had convinced Merlin that Daisy might well be a worthy "Morgana" to take his place one day.

9. After Harry and Eggsy, in their friends' own words, "finally got their respective heads out of their arses and sorted their shite out," Eggsy has observed that Harry is apparently incapable of at least going one day without addressing Eggsy by some sort of endearment or the other. "My dear" used to slip out quite accidentally, back when they were both mutually pining, which pretty much confirmed everyone else's suspicions about Harry's real feelings. These days, Eggsy will often hear Harry call him "darling" or "dearest" and it never fails to make him blush and feel all warm inside.

Of course, Eggsy has his own endearments and calling Harry "love" or referring to him as "my Harry" never fails to bring out the smile that Eggsy loves the most, the sweet, shy smile that will eventually give way to the one with the dimples.

10. In the wake of the former Arthur's treachery and the clear weaknesses he had in running Kingsman, Harry as Arthur took a different approach in rebuilding and making sure that changes for the better were made. Going out on missions was one of those changes. "Code Excalibur" became an official thing when it became patently clear that while Arthur and Galahad were already deadly working by themselves, they were absolutely lethal when working together. Of course, this was only invoked in missions where basically the fate of the world was at stake.

The most epic case in which a Code Excalibur was invoked happened during what should have been just a simple intelligence gathering mission that the trainees would be watching from the feeds in Merlin's office. Up to this point, the trainees had not realized that the apparently senior Knight known as "Harry" who so often shamelessly flirted with Agent Galahad and regularlymanaged to wipe the floor with the more arrogant trainees, was actually Arthur himself. Somehow, explosions, potential doomsday weapons and Arthur and Galahad being magnificently badass together happened, at which point Merlin just gave up and called the rest of the Knights in to help.

(Merlin: God help my sanity)

#hartwin #harry hart/eggsy unwin #harry hart #eggsy unwin #kingsman #harry hart is fitzwilliam darcy as a gentleman spy #daisy unwin #john wick #is a kingsman #you will pry that headcanon from my cold dead paws #i crack what i want #i regret nothing

813 notes · View notes

magicjesuscup · 5 years ago

Note

Can you do headcanons for Artoria realizing she's falling for her master?

I know I scream about how much I love Siegfried on here a bunch, but King Arthur is my favorite (all of them. Saber Artoria. Lancer Artoria. Prototype Arthur), so I had a lot of fun thinking about this one. I’m assuming this ask is about Saber Artoria (although, it would be true of Arthur and most of it applicable to Lancer Artoria too). Sorry this took so long. I wrote it in Word and it came out to be about 4 pages. OTL

Kinda spoilers for E Pluribus Unum singularity ahead.

Artoria is the last person to find out about her own crush. Literally everyone else in Chaldea knows except her.

Merlin is the first to know and it has provided him endless entertainment.

Her crush happens in stages...

Stage 1: Admiration

Her feelings start as admiration. You weren’t at all prepared to be the sole master in a mission to save all of humanity, but you were always choosing to do the right thing.

If you’re excited about saving the world, she’ll tell you, “I can appreciate your enthusiasm, but you should keep in mind that all that’s required of you is that you do your best. Don’t create expectations of yourself that you will be unable to fulfill, least you never forgive your shortcomings or regret ever having taken up your cause.”

If you don’t have noble reasons for saving the world and ask if Artoria (the king of ethics) is disappointed, she’ll respond, “No. Your actions are just, and you are a fair master; that’s all that can be asked of you.” When you seem unconvinced, she sits next to you and adds, “You and Mash are the first to rayshift to each singularity, and you stay close by the battlefield to issue commands. Knowing you are doing these things despite not wanting to is admirable. When you summon me to your side, I find pride in telling friend and foe of the singularity alike that you are my master.”

Flirting here is virtually impossible since you’re still building a relationship with her and might not even have a crush yourself yet.

Stage 2: Super Protective

Artoria then becomes very protective of you. Women in her time weren’t expected to take up arms, so she doesn’t suggest you learn to fight so you can protect yourself. She may be a king, but she is also a knight in your service. She’ll protect you, even if it means her life. Artoria is determined to keep this vow; she will not fail.

She’s also ready to fight with Diarmuid over this. He insists, “The safest place for Master is the farthest she can get from the battlefield.” To which Artoria responds, “She relies on us, her servants, for protection. If you wish to call your abilities to keep her safe into question, you are free to do so, but do not question mine.” Luckily, Diarmuid had no intentions of challenging the difference in their moral code, so they agreed to disagree.

She spends a lot of her time playing the part of the perfect, chivalrous knight for you. Artoria starts by doing things like opening doors for you or pulling out your chair. She’ll stop doing those things if you say it’s unnecessary or do something else if you say something like, “If you wouldn’t mind, I need your help more with [a thing].” She’ll also step in if she sees any male servant making you uncomfortable. Remember the E Pluribus Unum singularity? Let’s pretend that Fionn was talking to you instead of Mash. You’ve never seen somebody be challenged to a fight so fast. Artoria flew in out of no where (you seriously have no idea where she came from), and smacked him with her gauntlet…The metal side... Anyway, after Fionn looses but before he and Diarmuid leave, Artoria gives them a lecture on how your freedom belongs to you and no one is entitled to that. Fionn makes some comment like, “I suppose if I want her I’ll have to win her from you first.” Yeah, remember when I said everybody notices Artoria crushing on you except her? I meant literally everyone. Then Fionn looks at you

If you’re aware of Artoria’s crush, you smile and shrug. I mean, what are you supposed to do about it?

If you’re as oblivious as Artoria, you give him a confused glance. Fionn then rolls his eyes so hard they almost fall out of his head.

When the Knights of the Round Table notice their king protecting you so fiercely, they follow suit.

If you’re kind, this is the time to flirt with her. The conversation might go something like this:

You: Artoria, you’re the perfect knight. If you’re not careful, I might fall in love with you.

Artoria: I doubt that. I’ve never had that kind of effect on women.

You: Seriously?

Artoria: Not to my knowledge, no.

Artoria then moves the conversation on to Guinevere, who she seems to like talking about. Flirting with Artoria here gives you the advantage of learning things about her since she’s not too flustered to talk to you.

Stage 3: Semi-Awareness

For some reason Artoria can’t let Fionn’s comment go. She keeps thinking about it and you, and gah! What does it all mean!? Clearly she’s just being the best servant she can for you because you have similar goals and it would be dishonorable for her to half ass her efforts in helping you…Right? Right!? So why is it every time you smile she feels her stomach doing somersaults? When she offers her hand to escort you, why is she so aware of how close you are to her?

She insists on being alone if there’s a time she needs to remove her clothes for any reason. You don’t think too much of this though since you thought she should’ve sought that privacy all along. You two used to be in the same room while you changed (adhering to what you called “locker room rules” where both of you would facing opposite directions). Now Saber insisted on waiting outside the room.

If you’re mean (or like to be consistent), this is where you flirt with her with something like this:

You: *while changing* You don’t have to leave, Artoria. We’re facing different walls, so it doesn’t matter if you stay.

Artoria: In that case, I think I should stand guard at the door.

You: *pretending to ignore what she said* Although, I guess it would be ok if you turned around; it’s not like I’d know. *You hear the door shut really quickly as she leaves*

You won’t learn anything about Artoria here, but you will get to see her face turn 6 shades of red.

Step 4: Denial and Avoidance

There’s a slow progression of your sleeping arrangements. First, Artoria stands in the corner to protect you while you sleep. That doesn’t even last the first night because it weirds you out. You convince her to sit on the side of the bed. You start out sleeping as you normally do. But night after night, you edge closer and closer to Artoria until you sleep curled around her. When questioned about it, Artoria says it won’t stop her from being able to jump up to protect you if necessary, so you can sleep that way if you want. One night you see that Artoria had fallen asleep sitting up. The following day, you acquire pajamas for her. She was confused when you presented them to her. You explain that you want to try something different and invite her to sleep next to you. She lays down but protests that she won’t be able to protect you if she can’t see you. Laying next to her, you reach over and hold her hand and say, “There. Now you can feel that I’m next to you.” She turns her head away from you, but you can see that the tips of her ears are red. She replies with, “I suppose I can.” After a few nights of this, the Knights of the Round Table decide to take shifts guarding your door so their king can relax and enjoy himself. (Note: They have no idea what you two are doing, so they’re left to their wild, sometimes dirty imaginations.) It was Bedivere’s turn first. Artoria gets flustered and says if he’s standing guard, there’s no need for her to be there. Bedivere can see you’re hurt by that and suggests you would enjoy her company even if you weren’t relying on her for protection. Artoria doesn’t respond and leaves. Bedivere’s super observant, so there’s zero chance of hiding how hurt you are from him. He spends most of the night trying to comfort you, even though you tell him he doesn’t have to.

This lasts for several days. The Knights of the Round Table one by one had begun to ship you and Artoria. It really bothers them to see her avoiding you and how hurt you where by that, especially since they feel partly responsible. They split up to try to fix things between you two.

Tristan and Bedivere try talking to you. They suggest you go to Artoria and tell her how you feel. You tell them it’s not your place to try guilting her into a relationship. It’s not like the two of you broke up; you two weren’t together to begin with. Besides, what would someone as perfect as Artoria want to do with someone like you anyway?

You might even take things a step further here and start comparing yourself to Guinevere. You’re not as beautiful. You’re not as smart or diplomatic. You’re not as graceful. When you’re done listing all of ways you’re different from Artoria’s Queen, Tristan comments that Artoria wasn’t in love with Guinevere; Lancelot was. So, maybe it was a good thing you were different.

Lancelot and Gawain try their luck with Artoria. They get equally nowhere, but did so much faster. What their king says goes; they can’t push the matter like Tristan and Bedivere can with you. Artoria denies having any feelings for you whatsoever, even most non-romantic ones. When they inquire about the sudden change in her attitude, she says it’s because she had shown too much familiarity towards her master and needed to put some distance between you two to set things right again. It’s the dumbest thing Lancelot or Gawain had ever heard, but they couldn’t argue.

Weirdly, it’s Mordred that fixes things. He walks up to Bedivere and Tristan and asks, “Lancelot and Gawain didn’t get anywhere; what about you two?” When they shake their heads, Mordred rolls his eyes and mutters, “Gotta do everything myself.” He grabs your arm and leads you off to where Artoria is. He greets her with, “Hey, good news. The Doctor found a second person that can take over as Master.” He threw you to the ground. “Guess that means you don’t need this one anymore.” He takes a dozen steps away from you before changing into his full suit of armor, sword in hand. When he turned to face you, he took a fighting stance. Your mystic code doesn’t have invincibility, evade, or stun, and you begin to get the feeling this isn’t going to end well.

Artoria: Mordred, what are you doing?

Mordred: Clarent-

Artoria: Mordred!

Mordred: Blood-

Artoria: *putting herself between you and Mordred* Ex-

Mordred: ARTHUR!

Artoria: CALIBUR!

You close your eyes against the brightness created by the two noble phantasms colliding. The sound is deafening. When you open your eyes again, your ears are ringing and Artoria and Mordred are fighting. You notice the walls have large cracks and there’s dust falling as if the ceiling is about to collapse. You shout a warning to the two combatants. As Artoria looks up to the ceiling, Mordred kicks her in the stomach, pushing her back. Mordred jumps back just as a large piece of ceiling falls on the now empty space where they had been standing. Mordred looks at Artoria and says, “You’d better get her out of here if you don’t want her to get crushed,” before sprinting off.

Stage 5: Acceptance

Artoria turns to you, holds out a hand, and asks if you can stand. You nod, take her hand, and take off running with her through the crumbling hallway. Artoria pulls and pushes you, weaving to avoid falling debris with limited success. By the time the two of you are in a stable part of the hallway, you both have several scrapes and bloodied and bruised patches of skin. Artoria gently helps you sit on the floor, kneeling in front of you. She looks very worried because of all the blood on you.

Artoria: Are you ok?

You: Yeah.

Artoria: I’m sorry; this is my fault.

You: It’s fine.

Artoria: How is it fine!? The person I love is hurt!

Before she realizes what she said, you say, “I love you too.” You cup her face briefly in your hands before she leans forward to kiss you. You take the opportunity to do a mana transfer to heal her injuries. When Artoria pulls away, she realizes what you did.

Artoria: That’s not why I kissed you.

You: I know.

Artoria: Come on; we need to get you to a doctor.

You: I wasn’t done yet. *you tug her shoulder to try to get her lips back to yours*

Artoria: But you’ve healed my injuries.

You: I know.

You smile wickedly at her causing her to blush before she tells you that there will be plenty of time for that later.

#Artoria Pendragon #Arturia Pendragon #ArtoriaxFemMaster #ArturiaxFemMaster #Fate/Grand Order #Anonymous

14 notes · View notes

qqueenofhades · 6 years ago

Text

The Punisher as Medieval Romance: Tropes, Themes, and Characters

So a few days ago, an anon asked about more mythologies/inspirations for Kastle, apart from Hades/Persephone, and I mentioned that Frank’s character and his overall story arc have substantial (and fascinating) parallels with medieval romances. I was just answering quickly, but I then started to think about it in more depth, and realized that in fact, damn near all of The Punisher can be read as a modern-day medieval romance, sometimes subverting long-established tropes and sometimes playing them almost straight. This extends into Daredevil canon as well, as the characters around Frank also fit into recognizable mythic-medieval roles, and… yes. I resisted writing a long and research-heavy meta, clearly what I needed to do on the last week of term, for oh, forty-eight hours. Then, well, we know how that goes.

A note that I work specifically on medieval history, rather than medieval literature, so if I say anything clangingly bad, I hope my brethren and sistren medievalists can forgive me for it. Also, I don’t know if any of this is intentional on the part of the writers, so it’s not like I am identifying anything they’re specifically doing (or if they are, I don’t know about it), but this is just me, as a nerd, wandering into the candy store and being like “OH HEY GUYS LOOK AT THIS.” Of course, not all the examples fit in every aspect between medieval romance and modern Marvel canon, but there are still enough of them in a number of ways to make this interpretation plausible. And indeed, considering how Marvel stories have become ubiquitously embedded in our popular lexicon almost exactly in the way Arthurian legends and stories did for their medieval equivalent, it’s a noteworthy comparison.

(As you may be able to guess, this will be long.)

Let’s start with the source material. The medieval Arthurian romances are part of what is known as the Matter of Britain: the vast corpus of texts, written and rewritten across several centuries and by countless authors (usually French or English) that deals with some aspect of this mythology. Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin, the Knights of the Round Table, and other characters appear in various guises and playing different roles in each of these texts. They are still “themselves” on each appearance, but the interpretation and the storyline is largely up to each individual author. One may remark that this bears some similarities with the Marvel comic universe. The characters have been written and re-written in a vast array of formats from their first creation to their present modern iteration (and likewise, Hollywood is still making a King Arthur movie every other year). They have been interpreted by many authors and given different plots and re-imaginings, and are part of our collective pop-culture reference in the way that Arthurian romance and chivalric literature was in the medieval era. If Twitter had existed back then, we would have fans begging for Arthur Pendragon to be saved from Camlann the way we now have fans begging NASA to save Tony Stark. It’s a kind of cultural entertainment that you’re probably at least aware of, even if you’ve never participated in, and thus has reached similar levels of saturation. The Arthurian romances inspired endless knock-offs. We likewise have an omnipresent superhero genre. It reinvents and redefines the hero’s journey for its particular day and age on a massive scale. In some sense, we don’t even need to explain these characters or tropes, because everyone already knows who and what they are.

So… onto Frank. At first glance, he is a considerably unlikely medieval romantic hero, right? He’s rough around the edges, has (to say the least) grey morality, and is generally regarded as an outcast and a loner in his community, rather than some idealized, flawless Sir Galahad type who has never done anything wrong in his life and nobly avoids all temptation. But he’s actually a hero in the middle of his trials and tribulations and the corresponding loss (and eventual reaffirmation) of heroic identity. The broad strokes of Frank’s character arc, as seen in Daredevil season 2 and Punisher season 1, are these:

Separation from home and family;

Exile from society and the implied loss of chivalric (military) virtue;

Test of honor/contests against other knights, good and bad (Matt Murdock, Wilson Fisk, Lewis Wilson, etc);

Search for the Grail (life, restoration to honor, vengeance for his family, completion of the chivalric quest);

Partnership with worthy knights on the search (David Lieberman, Curtis Hoyle);

Resisting temptation from a knight’s wife (Sarah Lieberman);

Saving a fair maiden and having to be worthy of her love, while bound by a code of secrecy (Karen Page);

Confrontation of betrayal by an intimate/revelation of the dark side of chivalric honor (Billy Russo);

Menaced by a quasi-mythical and possibly demonic figure who must be defeated, who fights him in a parallel battle at the beginning/end of the story (Agent Orange/Rawlins);

Attempt to re-enter society and re-establish identity (end of s1, though that will be once more disrupted and complicated by s2);

All of this is, basically, the overall character arc for a medieval hero. Pretty much beat by beat. Also, while we’ve gotten used to think of ‘chivalry’ as implying a certain kind of idealized and virtuous behavior around ladies (holding doors, gentlemanly actions, whatever) that was only a small part of the overall code of chivalry – which, at its core, was an ethos about fighting, military prowess, and the display of valor through acts of war. Frank says that he loves being a soldier, and this would be a sentiment familiar to a medieval knight. Chrétien de Troyes has a line about how, essentially, only morally suspect half-men prefer peace. The soldier’s proper right, duty, and true joy in life is the practice of war, and he earns chivalry – martial renown – by doing it. It is not merely a pretty or romantic veneer on courtly behavior (though that is often how it is presented), but about war, the military, the destruction of opponents, and the very nature of being a constant soldier. To say the least, this fits Frank’s character extremely well. He is the consummate soldier who in fact needs a constant war to fight, and who has built an honorable legacy for himself (decorated Marine, Navy Cross, etc) prior to his forcible separation from society. This darker, grittier underside of chivalry, when the violence, bloodshed, and distortion of self was a constant concern, also fits very well with the tone of The Punisher.

That separation is often the keystone for a medieval hero’s journey, and functions to drive him out from the context in which he has until now been respected and earned his living. Sometimes we have an outright reason for that action, sometimes the hero just leaves Camelot and sets out on a quest, but Frank’s separation from society bears some similarity to Bisclavret, a twelfth-century werewolf romance written by a woman (Marie de France), and interesting for various reasons. (Some literature is available via Google Books.) In this case, the hero (the eponymous Bisclavret) is driven from society by the treachery of his wife, who hides his clothes so he can’t turn back from a wolf into a human and is forced to spend seven years in the forest as a beast. Of course Frank loses his wife, rather than being betrayed by her, but there’s still the connection between loss of wife – loss of home – loss of self, resulting in exile to the margins of society and transformation into a “monster.” Bisclavret never gives up his principles and identity even while forced to remain a wolf, and Frank gains a reputation as the “Punisher,” but likewise adheres to his own code of honor. He remains a knight, even if a knight-errant.

Bisclavret is rescued and brought back from the woods by an unnamed king, who sees his humanity and treats him well even as a monster (and yes, there are some definite homoerotic undertones in the fact that it’s the king’s love that restores him to himself, after his wife rejects him for his monsterhood or arguably, queerness). However, you could credibly parallel this to Frank and David Lieberman, who believes that he can help Frank and they can restore him to his former self/his good name. David of course physically helps Curtis care for Frank after his injuries in TP 1x05, and in general performs the humanizing role for the “monster.” He serves as Frank’s companion in the wilderness and believes that he is not the way the rest of society sees him (just as everyone else in Bisclavret sees him as a werewolf and has to be convinced by his good behavior that he’s really a man). Likewise, Karen recognizes early in Daredevil season 2, and never gives up in believing, that Frank still has honor. He’s (literally) not a monster to her. He has been expelled from the chivalric society in which he operated before, but he has not completely abandoned his morality.

Next, as noted, the motif of contests against other knights is essentially a central theme in all quest narratives. Frank must match his wits and skills against challengers, and be paralleled and anti-paralleled to them. One of his most obvious foils is against Matt, as they are explicitly set up as reflections and reverse images of each other. In some sense, Matt is the perfect chivalric knight, at least in DD s1/s2. His morality tends to the black and white, he always has some sense of how his faith informs or restricts his actions, and he constantly incorporates the church’s teaching into his sense of self. As Richard Kaeuper discusses in Holy Warriors: The Religious Ideology of Chivalry, this is basically exactly what the medieval church would want for a knight. Some degree of coexistence (sometimes a great deal) exists between chivalry and Christianity, but the underlying question of violence and sin always underlies it – can a man who makes his living by killing people really claim to be acting in a holy cause? Matt avoids this paradox (or tries to) by not killing anyone, but Frank almost exactly embodies the tension between these two ideologies that was ever-present in the medieval era. Clerical moralists always worried that knights were too comfortable with killing, violence, and general unethical behavior (even as they needed and co-opted that violence for their own purposes, such as the preaching and popularization of the crusades). For their part, the knights often selectively used the parts of Christianity that they liked, and fashioned it into their own ethos, just like Frank does to justify his campaign of vengeance.

In other words, Matt and Frank are perfect symbols of the struggle between church and chivalry, with Matt embodying one side (reconciliation) and Frank embodying the other (estrangement), but neither of them are completely excluded from knighthood despite their differences. They’re in fact the central tension of its existence – how violent can a knight be, and how much consideration, superficial or otherwise, does he have to pay to the church’s restriction of his ethics and behavior? There is some argument that chivalric literature was written as an attempted correction or moral instruction for real-life knights, who were supposed to take it as guidance on their own behavior and be more merciful. This isn’t always the case, since as noted, the literature exalts the very kind of violent behavior that built a chivalric reputation, but there was always that inherent wariness about how much was too much. Matt and Frank push and pull each other on this very question, end up working together at points because they are both within the system, but can’t fully reconcile.

(Also I’d like to point out: Stick, Matt, and Elektra as Merlin, Arthur, and Morgana. Stick is the mysterious, possibly immortal mentor, who teaches and mentors both of them, but also misleads and manipulates them for his own purposes. Matt becomes the ‘hero,’ son of the dead/fallen king (Uther Pendragon/Battlin’ Jack Murdock), while Elektra becomes the villainess/feared sorceress, marginalized by a society frightened of her agency and unwillingness to play nice. Also, one of Arthur’s two half-sisters, usually Morgause but sometimes Morgana, is the mother of his illegitimate son, Mordred, who is prophesied to be his destruction. So there is a dark/forbidden/taboo sexual aspect to their relationship, and just as Mordred causes the ultimate fall of Camelot, Matt and Elektra are literally caught in a falling building at the end of Defenders, which destroys their current identities. Matt enters Once and Future King stage after that and at the beginning of DDS3, where he is ‘gone’ or sleeping or suffering a crisis of faith and must summon up the wherewithal to return, and the character of Benjamin Poindexter becomes one of the many Arthur imposters. There are also some parallels for Elektra with Nimue, the ambitious young student of Merlin’s who overthrows him, ends his reign, and imprisons him in a tree.)

Anyway, back to Frank. So what are knights actually doing with all this questing? Well, various things, but they’re most often searching for the Holy Grail: symbolic of eternal life, forgiveness and atonement of sins, return to self. For this reason, few of them actually find it or are able to encounter it without being changed. It too has a deeply underlying Christian context, and Frank, the ex-Catholic, has been estranged from his belief but not separated entirely. (Likewise, if you were not worthy to look on it, you could be blinded, so… the fact that Matt himself is blind is arguably a commentary on who he actually is vs. how he imagines himself.) The Grail is also, interestingly, in the custody of a figure known as the Fisher King. He is the keeper of the castle where the Grail is hidden, and in the context of the Punisher, he’s basically Curtis.

The Fisher King, for a start, is always wounded in the legs or the thigh, and unable to stand. Some scholars have interpreted this as a metaphor for castration (since “thigh” is often a euphemism for the genitals), and that the Fisher King is passive and impotent because he is physically unable to perform warfare and thus to acquire chivalry. Either way, the Fisher King is the keeper of eternal life, but is physically disabled and needs the help of a knight to activate that power. Curtis is to some degree a subversion of this trope, because he is explicitly not helpless and functions to enable other questing knights (veterans with PTSD) to search for the Grail (health and reconciliation to society)… but in TP 1x09, he still needs Frank to save him. Frank has to encounter the Fisher King and make the correct choice/ask the right question (which wire to cut) to save him and continue his own path toward the Grail. Curtis, by running the veterans’ group, is symbolically the keeper of eternal life, where questers have to literally ask questions/talk to each other to restore themselves, and Frank, by going at the end of s1, is still trying to reach it. But true to form, with the beginning of s2, he’s not going to be able to entirely get there. There is still another obstacle/quest to overcome.

So what about Karen? Visually and to some degree topically, she is set up as the lady whose love Frank needs to obtain and maintain, even in the wilderness of his exile. Karen is blonde-haired and blue-eyed, which was often viewed in the medieval era as the ideal/most beautiful kind of woman (because white supremacy in Europe has always existed to some degree, even if in differently constructed ways. However, the thirteenth-century Dutch romance Morien, and some other ones, feature black and mixed-race protagonists, who are just as able to achieve the predicates of the heroic quest as others). She is also, as discussed above, one of the only people to believe in Frank’s honor and to reach out to help him. However, this relationship has to be kept secret, and has the potential to destroy them both if revealed. This is a fairly close parallel to another of Marie de France’s romances: Lanval (adopted in fourteenth-century English form, by Thomas Chestre, as Sir Launfal).

In brief, Sir Lanval, after being cast out from Camelot, meets a fairy woman and they become lovers, and she promises him that he will have everything he needs, as long as he keeps her secret and never mentions her to anyone. (Marie’s original version of this is much less misogynist than Chestre’s, which adds Guinevere making sexual advances to Launfal and her jealousy being the cause of him being thrown out, so yes, Dudes Ruining Stuff has a long history.) This is not an exact analogue to Frank and Karen, but keeping the code of secrecy (Karen obviously can’t tell anyone about Frank, Frank receives what he needs from her in terms of information, emotional support, etc, but likewise can’t tell anyone about it) is paramount in both relationships. Speaking about the relationship or revealing it to the outside world will result in its destruction, and the fairy lady has to vouch for Lanval’s goodness to the court in Camelot, just as Karen stoutly defends Frank to the court of public opinion/literally everyone. In some sense, while the knight has to rescue the fair maiden, the fair maiden is also the arbitrator of his fate and his overall reputation. (Also, all of TP 1x10 is basically Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, in which Lancelot must rescue the abducted Guinevere from Meleagant, and having to struggle with the revelation of this relationship and the fact they can’t be together and the dictates of public/proper behavior. Anyway.)

Lastly, Frank’s initial and final conflicts, and the overall shape of his quest, are dictated by his encounters with two archvillains: Billy Russo and William Rawlins, or “Agent Orange.” These are made especially painful for him by the fact that they are or were both close to him. Billy was his best friend, essentially part of his family, and as noted, there is a major theme in chivalric literature revolving around a betrayal (and subsequent murder) by those closest to you. We already discussed King Arthur being overthrown and killed by his incestuous illegitimate son, Mordred; the best-known version of that tale is of course Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, though only the seventh book, as linked above, actually tells the story of Arthur’s death. There is also Arthur’s half-sister and Mordred’s usual mother Queen Morgause; in the Morte, she is killed by her son Gaheris for committing adultery with Sir Lamorak and dishonoring her husband, King Lot. So in one sense, the knight is always doomed to face a betrayal from within his family, or from a close friend.

However, Billy Russo is also straight-up one of the demon knights of Perlesvaus, or, The High History of the Holy Grail. In Perlesvaus, Lancelot is haunted by the specter of these demon knights, who engage in a dark mockery of chivalric behavior, excesses of violence, and satanic imagery, and are otherwise the “dark side of the force” of honorable knighthood, as Richard Kaeuper puts it in Chivalry and Violence in Medieval Europe. Honor and chivalry are not permanent or unchangeable qualities, and in fact are very fragile. The perfect knight can and should have both of these, but he can also lose them very quickly by impious, dishonorable, murderous, or otherwise wrong actions. The demon knights are a metaphor and a commentary on the same tension we discussed in regard to Frank and Matt: when does a knight-errant become a bad knight? When does his behavior permanently transgress him and cast him beyond the reach of repentance? Billy outwardly embodies the same qualities as Frank, has been through the same wars, is part of the same order, but he isn’t a hero on a quest whose chivalric identity can eventually be reconciled to him. He has crossed too far to the wrong side of the line; now he is the embodiment of evil, a shadow parallel and a cautionary tale. He is not a knight-errant, he is merely a monster.

Then, of course, there’s Rawlins/Agent Orange. Noting the fact that his nickname is also color-coded, we can see some parallels to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In short, in this tale, a mysterious “Green Knight” challenges any man to strike him, with the condition that he will get to return the blow in a year and a day. Sir Gawain accepts and beheads him, after which the Green Knight stands up, picks up his head, and remains Gawain of his promise. Gawain has to struggle to both honorably keep his bargain and avoid dying, and is eventually struck at in return by the Green Knight, wounded, but not killed. In some interpretations, this has just been a test all along for Gawain to prove his honor, or an attempt by Morgana to deceive him and cause him to betray his chivalric ideals, and the Green Knight is just a pawn to achieve this. In others, the Green Knight is a potential embodiment of the Devil. (He also has a dual identity, as the Green Knight/Sir Bertilak, as Rawlins does.) Frank strikes at/beheads/blinds Rawlins, as seen in the flashbacks of TP 1x03, so Rawlins literally wants to do the same to him (an eye for an eye) in TP 1x12. In the story, Gawain and the Green Knight part on cordial terms, but in this case, Frank has to actually complete the death/destruction of his opponent. Like Gawain, however, he is wounded but not killed, and must find some way to survive his encounter with a possibly demonic entity determined to pay back in exact measure the physical wound/symbolic beheading inflicted earlier.

So. . . yes. Overall, both in the broad parameters of his character arc, in the obstacles he confronts, and the other people he meets and the encounters he plays out with them, Frank is actually an excellent hero for a modern-medieval romance. The essential core of the medieval romance was not about love, though that was often present, but about identity, adventure, and the challenge to self, and while in some places these tropes have been updated or nuanced or subverted, in others they’re played as recognizably or directly descended from their medieval counterparts, and the way in which we have thought about stories and enjoyed them for a very long time.

#mcu #the punisher #the punisher meta #frank castle #kastle #frank x matt #medieval history #medieval literature #yes of course i ended up writing this #i am nothing if not predictable #long post

34 notes · View notes