#he’s outright and maybe sometimes tactless but arthur craves that

[vi-visected]

projecting on arthur pendragon time!!

i’ve had a lot of conversations with people about my father over the years and it’s resulted in me heavily relating to arthur in the relationship that he has with uther. arthur is constantly trying to prove himself to uther by aiming for goals that he can’t see. his father has set these markers in arbitrary places and told arthur he needs to meet them to earn his respect but won’t tell arthur where they are in even the vaguest sense. and then in these moments arthur is exhausted from trying to hit a bar that is constantly and continuously moving out of his reach, when he’s begging for leeway or for guidance, uther gives him a backhanded compliment or a “you know i’ve always cared about you” and fuck him but it’s enough to keep arthur aiming and throwing over and over again. and it’s not just the goals that he hides from arthur, it’s the rewards too. uther talks of his son in the third person and away from where arthur might hear. he uses him as a measuring point to morgana (and vice versa). he tells anyone and everyone what his son is worth EXCEPT arthur. uther sometimes acts as if arthur should just intrinsically know that he has his love and care, that he should just be able to sense it or something. he treats arthur coldly and makes him earn his love only to never ever show it to him.

arthur pendragon spends his whole life wanting someone to just love him to his face.