#crying about perwaine hours

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analysis of underrated perwaine moments, i hear literally no one you all asking for. you’re in luck!!! today we are here to cry about 4x12 and 4x12 exclusively.

i don’t know how many people actually remember this moment because i honestly don’t see that many people talking about it (even though it’s a very important glimpse into gwaine’s character development since the third series) but, the scene i’m talking about is the one in the infirmary at the beginning of 4x12, in which gwaine tells percival to leave without him.

first of all, let’s talk about why this is an important moment for gwaine: in series 3, we are repeatedly told that gwaine is lonely, that gwaine’s only friend is merlin, etc, etc. he feels purposeless, aimless, without a home, which is why he never stays put in one place until he meets someone he has such an undeniably genuine connection with, merlin. at the end of series 3 we are only just beginning to see gwaine’s arc unfold, but it’s almost completely dropped in series 4 along with a lot of other side characters. this exchange between gwaine and percival in 4x12 is important because it shows how gwaine now has people in his life other than merlin: notice how he specifically chooses to say goodbye to percival, says, ‘i’ll keep them off your back,’ makes it personal to him and shows that yeah!!! gwaine has friends and loved ones and people he cares about, people he is willing to die for!! this teeny tiny moment tells the audience that gwaine has finally found the love he deserves (not that merlin isn’t gwaine’s favourite person on earth, it’s just that merlin was the only person who cared about gwaine in return before).

so, yeah. it’s an important moment for gwaine that very few people talk about, but now i’m going to go off on a perwaine rant and basically claim that perwaine is intrinsic to the importance of the scene and both characters’ arcs which, like,,,,,, i mean it’s fucking true and i’ll fight you on that.

it’s such a tender moment. sure, it’s hasty and there’s tension, and it’s not really the time, but god whenever i watch this, what, thirty second clip i want to cry. it’s a goodbye. it’s played off as gwaine just buying the others more time, but if that’s really what the writers wanted to convey they wouldn’t have carefully crafted the whole thing to centre around percival. gwaine would have been like ‘oh, go on without me,’ to merlin as well, he wouldn’t have been so calculated in taking percy aside and gently, nobly sacrificing himself. because between the eye-fucking and the fucking bro hug, this is an incredibly romantic moment, not the sort of goodbye you save for anyone.

and again, this goes back to gwaine’s character development and only enhances it further: almost two years ago, gwaine claimed that merlin was the only person in the whole world who cared about him, that ‘people got sick of [him] too quickly’. and now gwaine is so invested in someone else that he’s willing to completely risk his life in ensuring they are safe. this is a sad moment, sure, but it makes me so undeniably happy knowing that gwaine finally feels loved and appreciated, that maybe his insecurities have eased up because it’s not just merlin who can bear to put up with him.

this rant is a bit off brand for me considering it’s so gwaine-centric, but i don’t think loads of people think about the implications of this scene, and it really is significant to gwaine’s development over the show however small it is. but, because of course i have to make everything about percival, we’re gonna go off about why it’s important for his nonexistent arc too.

don’t get me wrong, i know percival basically doesn’t have any purpose in the show. but first of all, fuck you, and second of all, if the writers hadn’t dropped every other knight’s storyline after they wrapped up lancelot’s, he’d be incredibly important in gwaine’s, and that would’ve opened up his own.

anyway, two main things to say about this moment and it’s impact on percival: it’s foreshadowing, and it shows the development in his character that only someone as sad as i would pick up on. percival’s entire family was killed by cenred’s men at some unspecified time, as mentioned by merlin in a throwaway line during 4x06. as the self proclaimed number one percival stan, i spent way too long overthinking this whole thing and came to the conclusion that percival is reasonably emotionally closed off. he’s quiet for starters, and presents himself as sort of shy, and when paired with the fact he doesn’t really have any connections to any of the characters in the show, you can quite easily assume that he doesn’t really feel part of the inner circle. and maybe he doesn’t even want to be, because he’s scared that if he gets attached to people he’ll lose them, just like with his family.

now apply that to this moment in 4x12, when gwaine and percival have an established and firm relationship. percival accepts this goodbye, reluctantly, but he accepts it nonetheless. and percival clearly cares about gwaine a lot, considering there are multiple instances he’s saved his life in the past and the show is quite keen on presenting these two characters as close. this acceptance suggests that percival is overcoming his grief, his trauma, and is able to form relationships with people and realise the tangibility of them ending, without letting it destroy him.

some of you might think that’s a stretch, which is fine, but all i can say is bbc hire me and i’ll rewrite the show with percy as the protagonist.

anyway, continuing where we left off at, foreshadowing and the demise of relationships: in 4x12, gwaine chooses to stay behind at the mercy of morgana to ensure that percival is safe. this is foreshadowing the very dumb subplot from 5x13 with gwaine and percival, what with the implication that this might be the last time they see each other, this is their final goodbye, blah blah blah. it’s preparing for these characters’ final moments together, in which gwaine will just have a nap die, and percival will have to go on without him. sure, i absolutely hate the weird revenge plot the show tried to make with these two characters and morgana in like, the last half hour of the show, but this scene in 4x12 does echo it in a foreboding way that just makes me want to cry.

this is kind of a nonsensical rant about everything i’ve ever felt about the ten seconds of a merlin episode that actually features percival, but i do think this stuff is important if you care about the knights. and the show chose to keep it in, so they must think it’s important too.

[heartslobbf]

with undertones of the most tender, most heartfelt form of love just about ever

"I'll keep them off your back for as long as I can"

(With undertones of "goodbye, stay safe, I'll try to protect you if it's the last thing I do")

[heartslobbf]

gwaine: i failed

percival: no, you haven’t

me, rewatching this scene for the 4938372728th time:

[heartslobbf]

today’s vibe: crying hysterically because gwaine would die without a second’s hesitation for percival

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moments when the writers forgot that perwaine wasn’t meant to be canon

if this show was made like 5 years later than it was, gwaine and percival WOULD have been the canon side couple and not just the semi-canon side couple. but they’re semi-canon for the following reasons:

gwaine, before he has even laid eyes on percival, knowing nothing more than this guy is capable of causing a giant fucking rockfall: i’m liking him already.

bearing in mind they’ve known each other for BARELY 24 HOURS, the proud lil grins they give each other when they trap cenred’s men in the dungeons

stealing food from the kitchens is the pinnacle of romance

the two of them effectively being joined by the hip whilst the knights are searching that village in 04x01, and then when merlin encounters the dorocha, being the last two to show up (mayhaps they got distracted 👀👀)

the directors basically recreating that scene in 02x13 where gwen saves arthur from kilgarrah and it’s like ✨ooo look at the cute couple being cute and awkward and in love ooo✨ but with gwaine and percy, and then having the audacity to have gwaine sarcastically say “never knew you cared.” i. bbc. please.

when gwaine tells leon and elyan to pick on percival instead in that butthurt and salty way only partners do

they always sit next to each other!!! or like stand side by side!! and ride together!!!!!! i mean like 4/5 times, they are next to each other within the knights

in 04x06 when merlin knocks gwaine out as dragoon and the very next shot we get is percy about to shank the shit out of him for it

in 04x10 when gwaine walks in on elyan losing his shit in the night, and instead of consoling him like a normal person, tells him about how percy broke some guy’s fucking wrist like a proud husband

also in 04x10 when, after gwaine punches elyan in the armoury, percy just gives him a look of pure disapproval

the moment that never fails to make me cry!!!!! oh boy!!! in 04x12 when they’re escaping camelot with arthur and gwaine tells percy specifically, not like merlin or anyone else who is also leaving, to go on without him. and then they do the little half-hug and percy looks so SAD and gwaine doesn’t even fucking say bye to anyone else. they are in love i literally don’t know what else to tell you.

the heart eyes gwaine gives percy when he first sees him again in 04x13

when gwaine wakes percy up in the night during 05x01 to tell him about the weird blue lights and percy is just like ‘what the FUCK do you want?????’ it’s literally the canon version of all those text posts where gwaine wakes percy up at 3am to say something with huge crackhead vibes

when gwaine just up and leaves in 05x02 to investigate the weird lights and percy just cannot be bothered to stop him from being an idiot

also in 05x02 when merlin says ‘get gwaine back to percival,’ which can be translated as: ‘get this dumbass back to his slightly less dumbass husband’

ALSO in 05x02 when they see mordred coming towards them and gwaine goes forward but percy just like,,,,, so gently,,, puts a hand in front of him all protectively like ‘i stg if you run off and almost die again i will kill you’,,,,,,, soft and tactile 🥺🥺

the infamous 05x03 scene. the sexual tension. the sexual tension. the sexual tension. i cannot put into words how perfect it is and how damn homoerotic the creators made it

couple goals is leading a group of soldiers down a hidden path in camlann to foil morgana pendragon’s attempt to flank you because for once the king actually let you do something together and trusted you to not be dumbasses in love

literally everything about eira’s execution. i mean holy SHIT, the tender shoulder clap, the silent support and solidarity, these two dumbasses literally deciding to go and try to kill morgana for each other because theyre dumbasses in love

their fucking wholesome TEAMWORK as they take down all of morgana’s men together

the only reason percy manages to find the strength to escape from those fucking ropes being hearing gwaine in pain 🥺🥺🥺

when gwaine says he’s failed and percy, insistent, says ‘no you haven’t’ in the tiniest and saddest voice and makes a genuinely pained expression

the forehead touch,,,,, the forehead touch,,,,,,,,,, god im fucking crying im sobbing oh god why

how in gwen’s coronation scene, there are multiple parallels between arthur and gwaine’s absences: the establishing shot on both percy and gwen emphasise a space next to them, there is an empty throne next to gwen and percy is standing off centre as though someone should be next to him, etc. they are both grieving for the same thing: the loss of a partner

anyway sorry to make you cry at the end there, that’s the way it is with merlin babey!!!! feel free to reblog and add on anything else!!!!

[heartslobbf]

types of perwaine shippers.

(please don’t attack me this is entirely based off of me and the fanfics ive read)

the percival stan

still waiting for a percy centric episode

could talk for hours about how much of a softie percival is and his heart eyes for gwaine

“percival DESERVED his wedding with gwaine how could the writers do this??”

probably a hufflepuff and insists percy is too (and they’re right)

all they care about is fluff. they will read every fluffy fic in existence and cry over each and every one

watches the allison/luther scenes from the umbrella academy and imagines its perwaine instead

the gwaine stan

makes ‘merlin as vines’ compilations that are 90% gwaine just being a crackhead

writes suuuper angsty fics about gwaine being self destructive and oblivious

“that one thing eoin said to tom that one time had suCH GWAINE ENERGY—”

either thinks gwaine is a super suave flirt or 100% hopeless with actual romance. there is no in between

probably thinks percival is smarter than he actually is

watches the gwaine/gwen scene and imagines it’s perwaine instead

the multishipper

writes those cute fluffy fics where everyone is coupled up and happy

also writes those text fics that are equally fluffy

wouldn’t usually go out of their way to read a perwaine fic but if they stumble upon one, they’re down

“perwaine was 100% canon and they’re very sweet”

complains that we didn’t get a merthur/perwaine double wedding at the end of series 5

probably prefers gwaine to percival

the in-denial one

“what do you mean gwaine died?????”

they’re very sad

whenever someone mentions gwaine dying, they’re like wElL aCtUAlLy eOiN sAiD gWAiNe diDn’T diE—

writes fluffy fix-it fics exclusively and cannot deal with even a sliver of angst

pretends the fifth series didn’t happen

has probably rewritten the whole show just to give them a happy ending

the sadist

angst. so much fucking angst it’s borderline concerning

only cares for the post-canon fics about the characters that survived and how fucking miserable they are

likes to remind everyone that gwaine died thinking he failed everyone whenever they can

makes fluffy headcanons and then ruins them by saying “but they can never do that again because gwaine is DEAD :D”

is secretly very sad like the in-denial one, but refuses to admit it

probably prefers percival to gwaine