#i realized it is impt for others to see that MA is a kind of relationship dynamic as everything else

[tiodolma]

what made me jump from m/erth/ur to merg/ana?

@kessilover

Arthur had both of them almost massacred together with the druids when he raided that camp while looking for morgana. This is important to me because thinking about this event for that one desperate night was what made me start to shift towards MerGana. That was the one time Merlin was in true and real solidarity with a magic friend/s. That was the one time that he wasn't alone in his fear of execution/genocide.

Morgana treated merlin with genuine admiration, equality and respect since season 1. (arthur could never even until his fckn deathbed). Even as enemies, Morgana treated him as a legitimate threat.

Merlin shows the full range of human experience and emotions when he's dealing with her, even the ones which he denounced: rage, bitterness, hate. Morgana has unlocked every aspect of him without meaning to.

it was a bonus that they were narratively made to mirror and parallel each other in so many ways.

With Morgana, Merlin is human.

With Morgana, Merlin is free.

Therefore they are more fun to watch :D

..........

also unfortunately, m/erthur fell under the ship dynamic that i hate and avoid the most. M/erTh/ur was the third time i met this kind of trope in media. I realized it too late and it pissed me off.

The trope goes like this:

blondie is a naive, sheltered and idealistic sort of person. They are also skilled leader and fighter, with daddy/mentor issues, with a traumatic past with daddy/mentor. Blondie also has loads of underlings. Most importantly blondie has an ongoing prejudice/bias against a group of people or idealogy.

MC is a distinguished member of the group/kind of people that blondie hates/distrusts.

MC basically has the task of being the bridge to the world and blondie. They act as guide/mentor. They act as the one who can show the other world to Blondie. MC is the one teach them to love and trust others (especially the kind of ppl blondie has prejudice on). This is why the dynamic has a lot of heartfelt speeches and etc.

MC is usually in a more disadvantaged situation coz they are the type that have to work alone. This means MC has to show their best face to blondie at all times because blondie has power over them/ or has more privileged position/ has more allies than them.

Blondie usually becomes very loyal to MC despite still hating on MC's people. Their rapport is intense.

MC has a Mirror-Anti counterpart that have the same end goals as them but is operating on the opposite side.

MC and their Mirror-Anti counterpart have almost telepathic and equal trust and respect in each other. Because of this they don't talk about true feelings coz they both can predict each other at some level. This also made them prone to miscommunication, misunderstanding and angst.

MC and Mirror-Anti counterpart can rightfully call each other's bullsht out more than anyone else can. This means they experience the best and worst from each other, grow and influence each other's life more than any other dynamic in a show.

Mirror-Anti counterpart have also the same privileges as Blondie. Blondie and the mirror-anti counterpart are also good friends.

Usually the MC and the Mirror-Anti character are each other's closest friend/kindred spirit or bitterest enemy (coz they're the same but on opposite side).

and fans alwayssss latch on to the MC-blondie dynamic because it's like a master-dog loyalty kind of thing.

to each their own... but it's not for me. I prefer the MC x Mirror-Anti dynamic coz it's usually more colorful, more charged and more flawed.

also like... u can check the merthur-critical or anti-merthur arthur-critical tumblr tags... i'm there